21st Nov 2016 12:07
LONDON (Alliance News) - TBC Bank Group PLC outlined plans for a merged Corporate and Investment Banking division on Monday but will have to launch the enlarged division without the help of its corporate boss, who has been poached by the rival JSC Bank of Georgia.
TBC Bank said it will aim to offer debt, capital markets products and advisory services through a combined CIB division under the leadership of George Tkhelidze, currently deputy chief executive officer and chief risk officer at the bank. Tkhelidze was previously a vice-president at the investment banking arm of Barclays PLC in London, where he worked in the Financial Institutions Group.
"I would like to congratulate George on this appointment, and wish him the same success in this new role as he enjoyed as our chief risk officer. The newly-formed Corporate & Investment Banking business will play crucial role in TBC Bank's development," said Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, chief executive officer of TBC Bank.
The combined division will see TBC Bank try and stake out another leading position in the Georgian banking sector ahead of the Bank of Georgia, which is owned by FTSE 250-listed BGEO Group PLC.
TBC Bank's recent acquisition of JSC Bank Republic made it the "indisputable leader" in retail banking in Georgia, according to its third quarter results statement, and the plan for a new CIB division comes after Bank of Georgia combined its own corporate banking and investment businesses in February.
This year has also seen TBC Bank shift its listing to the premium segment of the London Main Market and bank executives have said they aim for inclusion in the FTSE 250 index - where it would join BGEO.
However, Bank of Georgia has struck back by poaching TBC's head of corporate banking, David Tsiklauri, to lead its own CIB unit.
Another returnee to the Georgian banking sector from a stint in international investment banking, Tsilauri has been corporate head at TBC since 2014, having previously been vice-president in the Capital Markets & Treasury Solutions team at Deutsche Bank.
Bank of Georgia also outlined plans on Monday to drive forward its own retail banking operations, targeting making retail banking at least 65% of its own loan book. In order to do so it will split its Retail Banking division into two units.
The first will be made up of Express Bank operations for the emerging retail segment and Bank of Georgia brand operations for mass retail, led by Mikheil Gomarteli, deputy chief executive officer of the company. The second unit will consist of the small and medium business and premium retail banking operations, led by Ramaz Kukuladze, who will also be appointed as a deputy chief executive officer.
Shares in TBC Bank were flat at 1,325.00 pence on Monday, while shares in BGEO Group were up 0.2% at 2,831.00p.
By Adam Clark; [email protected]
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