| Bank of Georgia Plans to Move Credit Cards to GEL |
|
15/02/2010 13:02 (726 Day 15:23 minutes ago) | |||||
|
The FINANCIAL -- According to Irakli Gilauri, General Director of Bank of Georgia , the Bank is moving all credit cards to the national currency. Before transferring the credit cards to GEL the dollar-based Orange Card holders will be able to change currency if desired.
Bank of Georgia offers mortgage and auto loans in the national currency. As bank officials say, such kinds of loans will help consumers who have salaries in GEL to stay away from the risks caused by currency rate change.
“Taking in to account the interest of our customers, in 2008 Bank of Georgia offered mortgage loans in GEL. The product that we offered to the customers two years ago was different. At the moment we offer our consumers fixed interest rates and loans for 10 year terms,” says Sophie Balavadze, Corporate Communications and PR of Bank of Georgia .
“The first 100 applicants will get loans with a 15 percent interest rate. The customers who apply for a Bank of Georgia auto loan until March 1 will be able to get a 16 percent interest rate loan for five years,” Balavadze notes.
According to Balavadze for the second quarter of 2009 Bank of Georgia began to decrease interest rates for different kinds of loans.
“The Bank decreased interest rates on micro, mortgage, auto and consumer loans and the rates of each of them became equal to the period before the economic crisis. We also decreased interest rates on corporate loans,” Balavadze says.
As balavadze says, as of December 31, 2008, the portfolio of auto loans totalled 80 million GEL. The dynamic of interest rates on auto loans before May 2008 was 16%, and in May 2008 - 17%. In November 2009 the rate decreased to 16%.
“These kinds of loans are available for purchasing real estate, building or funding renovation,” said Irakli Gilauri at a special press conference held at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel.
In an interview with The FINANCIAL, Bank of Georgia said that the Bank plans to increase its market share in European countries this year.
“We already have a banking license in Ukraine and Belorussia. As for Tel-Aviv, we manage an office which is mostly focused on the marketing activity of our products. In a certain European country, which we cannot yet name, we will open a branch of the same kind,” Gilauri told The FINANCIAL.
According to the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), during the first 11 months of 2009, 299,304 plastic cards were issued by Georgian commercial banks. “According to the results of December 1, the total number of plastic card launched in circulation was 3,855,381. At the beginning of 2009 the number reached 3,556,077,” Kakha Barabadze, Representative of NBG, told The FINANCIAL.
|
|
|
