UPDATE: TBC business expending in Azerbaijan

The FINANCIAL — TBC Credit non-bank credit institution (ex SOA Credit) is starting introducing new products, Fineko/abc.az. reports. TBC Credit Deputy General Director Ajdar Aliyev said at present the organization is examining the possibility of issuing credit cards.

“We are preparing the request to the National Bank of Azerbaijan for receiving the license for issuing credit cards. After that we will start working with one of the leading processing system VISA or MasterCard . The project is still under processing,” A.Aliyev said.

SOA Credit was founded by US organization Shorebank in 2001 and later last year 75% in its charter capital was acquired by Georgia’s TBC Bank due to new issue of shares. As a result, SOA Credit charter capital was increased up to $10 million.

This May the organization was reregistered as TBC Credit.

TBC Bank undertook to introduce new products and provide successful development of SOA Credit. For the next few years investment in the Azerbaijani organization will make $30-50 million annually.

TBC Credit  is to open first service centres in the capital of Azerbaijan until the end of summer.

Aliyev said that they would open their first service centre in Baku before the end of June at the address: 92, Shamsi Badalbeyli Street (nearby the Heydar Aliyev Palace).

“Another similar one will open in the centre of Baku later this August,” he added.

All the service centres TBC Credit opens will be designed within the concept of new branches of its key shareholder TBC Bank in Georgia prepared specially by US consulting company Senteo.

After Georgia’s TBC Bank became institution’s shareholder, TBC Credit passed a 5-year plan, under which it will expand its branch network for 3 or 5 year up to 20-25 offices, including two of them already in first half of 2008.

TBC Bank is one of the leaders of Georgian bank sector. Bank assets as of November 1, 2007 reached $1.1 bn. The largest shareholders of TBC Bank are IFC – 30.95%, TBC Holding Ltd – 21.67%, Liquid Crystal International N.V – 20.1%, DEG – 13.33%.

Source: Baku, Fineko/abc.az.