BankingData
TBC Group lifts quarterly net profit 10 per cent to a record GEL 404m
Georgia supplied the growth with profit up 17 per cent, while Uzbek non-performing loans rose and a GEL 50 million buyback was launched.
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TBC Bank Group, the London-listed lender that operates in Georgia and Uzbekistan, made a record net profit of GEL 404 million in the third quarter of 2026, up 10 per cent on a year earlier, the group said on 6 November.
Quarterly net profit has risen from GEL 368.3 million a year earlier and GEL 386.1 million in the second quarter to GEL 404.2 million. Return on equity was 23.2 per cent, against 24.4 per cent a year earlier and 23.6 per cent in the second quarter. Total operating income rose 9.7 per cent to GEL 961 million. Net interest income, the largest part, grew 12.6 per cent to GEL 700 million, and the net interest margin widened by 0.1 percentage points on the quarter to 7.4 per cent. Net fee and commission income rose 1.9 per cent to GEL 154 million. Operating expenses grew faster than income, by 13.4 per cent to GEL 371 million, which took the cost to income ratio to 38.7 per cent from 37.4 per cent. Over nine months, net profit reached GEL 1,155 million, up 12 per cent, with a return on equity of 23.4 per cent.
The balance sheet grew too. Gross loans rose to GEL 32.5 billion at the end of September, up 16 per cent on a constant currency basis, and customer deposits reached GEL 27.6 billion, up 14 per cent on the same basis. Non-performing loans were flat on the quarter at 3.3 per cent of gross loans, against 2.7 per cent a year earlier, and the cost of risk fell 0.3 percentage points on the quarter to 1.3 per cent.
Georgia supplies the growth
Net profit in Georgia rose 17 per cent to GEL 406 million, with a return on equity of 24.8 per cent. Operating income there grew 13 per cent to GEL 778 million on a 20 per cent rise in net interest income, and the cost to income ratio improved by 0.8 percentage points to 32.7 per cent. Loans and customer deposits grew 18 and 15 per cent on a constant currency basis, with loans to corporate and investment banking clients up 23 per cent. The group said 87 per cent of new unsecured retail loans in Georgia were issued fully digitally.
The group's economic overview put Georgian bank credit growth at 16.9 per cent at the end of September at constant exchange rates. It noted that the National Bank of Georgia raised its policy rate to 8.25 per cent in May and kept it there through the third quarter, and that Fitch revised Georgia's outlook to positive in October.
Uzbek lending recovers as non-performing loans rise
In Uzbekistan, gross loans rose 3 per cent on the quarter to GEL 2,370 million (USD 910 million), or 13 per cent excluding instant cash loans, as the group adjusts its loan book in line with regulatory requirements. The net interest margin returned to above 20 per cent. The cost of risk fell 1.0 percentage points to 10.8 per cent, while non-performing loans rose 1.2 percentage points to 11.8 per cent "as the portfolio continues to season", the group said. It expects new rules on auto-collections to take effect in early 2027. Payments value rose 54 per cent year on year in US dollar terms.
A dividend and two share purchase programmes
The board declared a quarterly dividend of GEL 1.75 per share, taking the nine-month total to GEL 5.25, up 5 per cent. It will be paid in pounds sterling on 5 February 2027 to shareholders on the register on 8 January, with an ex-dividend date of 7 January, the declaration said. A separate notice said Investec began buying up to GEL 50 million of shares for cancellation on 6 November, capped at 5,572,679 shares and expected to end on 28 February 2027. The group will also fund its employee benefit trust to buy up to a further GEL 50 million of shares from 9 November to satisfy future share awards.
Capital ratios leave room for the payouts, the group said: the Georgian bank's CET1 ratio was 17.0 per cent and the Uzbek bank's 21.4 per cent, up from 19.1 per cent in June. It repeated its targets for 2026 to 2028 of annual loan book growth of 15 per cent or more, a return on equity of 23 per cent or more, and a payout ratio of 25 to 45 per cent including dividends and buybacks.