TBC Bank to Complete Merger with Bank Republic

TBC Bank Group PLC ("TBC PLC") announces that its subsidiary JSC TBC Bank ("TBC Bank"), the leading bank in Georgia has entered the final stage of the operational and legal merger with Bank Republic, which will be fully completed next week, well ahead of schedule.  Bank Republic was acquired in October 2016 and was, at the time, the third largest Georgian bank in terms of gross loans with a strong footprint in the retail segment. The merger was originally anticipated to be completed in the third quarter of 2017.

Following the merger, the Bank's market share in total loans will increase by 7.6% and will reach 37.8% as of 31 March 2017. The client base will expand by approximately 380,000 customers and an additional 41 branches and around 160 ATMs will be added to our distribution network. The one-off integration costs have amounted to GEL 22.9 million, less than the expected GEL 23.3 million. Moreover, the bank has upgraded annualized cost synergies guidance from GEL 20.5 million to GEL 24.0 million. 

Starting from 8 May, all former Bank Republic customers will gain full access to TBC Bank's innovative products and services, such as award winning mobile and internet banking, the first ever Georgian Chat-Bot and a wide variety of deposit, loan and current account offerings. New customers will be served by a network of 167 branches and over 500 ATMs.

"We are proud to complete the merger with Bank Republic earlier than we had initially anticipated. The management team have done their best to execute the merger process flawlessly for all our stakeholders, and we are looking forward to welcoming our new customers and offering them the best digital financial services in the region", commented Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, Chief Executive Officer of TBC Bank.

For further enquiries, please contact:
Head of Investor Relations
Anna Romelashvili
ir@tbcbank.com.ge

About TBC Bank Group PLC ("TBC PLC")

TBC PLC is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, incorporated in February 2016. TBC PLC became the parent company of JSC TBC Bank ("TBC Bank") on 10 August 2016. TBC PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol TBCG.

TBC Bank, together with its subsidiaries, is the leading universal banking group in Georgia, with a total market share of 31.1% of loans (or 38.9% taking into account TBC Bank's holding in JSC Bank Republic and 33.0% of non-banking deposits (or 37.8% taking into account TBC Bank's holding in JSC Bank Republic) as at 31 December 2016, according to the data published by the National Bank of Georgia.