The Banking Supervision Committee of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan on January 20 issued a provisional license to the Georgian TBC Bank to set up a bank in Tashkent, the CB said in a statement.
“Provisional license to set up a bank was given for a period of up to six months. During this period, the founders must undertake appropriate organizational and technical steps and form the authorized capital to obtain the permanent license to conduct banking activities,” the statement added.
TBC Bank’s plans to enter the Uzbek market with its digital neobank Space became known in January last year. In April, the bank bought a controlling stake in Payme e-wallet for US$ 5.5 million.
TBC Bank was founded in 1992. From 2012–2015, TBC online banking services received an award for being the best in Central and Eastern Europe. On 11 June 2014, London Stock Exchange welcomed TBC Bank to the Main Market following its listing of Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs). The Bank raised $239m at IPO, giving it a market value of $640m. TBC Bank IPO was also the largest IPO from Georgia and the largest international off-index IPO from the EMEA region.
