The FINANCIAL — VTB Bank Georgia has grown its assets by 25% in 2014. The Bank has already announced 100 job vacancies and plans to open 10 new branches in 2015. Well-known for its active support of Georgian sport, the Bank is involved in culture and education as part of its CSR activities. The Bank chooses to support long-term social projects, focused on investing in the better future of the nation.
“The whole year has been very successful for VTB Bank Georgia. We have maintained a growing trend. Assets grew by GEL 200 million. That is 25% more compared to the previous year. In most cases VTB Bank Georgia during 2014 was growing faster than the market. Our loan portfolio grew by 21.6% compared to the 17% market growth. Corporate business loans grew by 20.9% compared to the 12.8% market growth. At the same time corporate business deposits grew by 54.5% compared to the 13.9% market growth. We increased our market share on this side from 8.72% to 9.93%,” George Barkalaya, Vice-President at VTB Bank Georgia, told The FINANCIAL.
According to Barkalaya, the Return on Investment (ROI) has increased by 21.3% according to the results of the first eleven months of the current year. “There has been a growing trend in the deposit portfolio as well. We successfully positioned ourselves in the corporate business direction, as well as in regard to SME business. So, VTB Bank Georgia has been growing in every direction: retail, small business and corporate. We plan to continue our growth and our success in the upcoming years.”
Q. What are your plans for 2015?
A. We plan to continue with further increasing growth next year. VTB Bank Georgia will enlarge its market share of retail banking. During the coming three years we plan to double the number of our branch network. Branches will be opened in every Georgian city where VTB Bank is not present at the moment. We are not yet established in Zugdidi, Zestafoni and Akaltsikhe. Accordingly its residents will soon get the opportunity to access the full services and products that we offer. In addition, we will add new branches in cities where we are already present. Ten large branches and new sales points are scheduled to be opened in 2015. At that point the number of our branches will total 37.
Q. Please can you tell us of the CSR activities that you have been implementing?
A. Our CSR activities are quite diversified. We try to support various fields. We are proud to be the partners of the national teams and federations of various sports. VTB Bank Georgia is a general sponsor of the Rugby National Team, as well as the National Water Polo Team. We are glad to bear witness to their great success. During the summer our national water polo team participated in the European Championship. We support the Sport Federation of Georgia, Gymnastic Federation of Georgia and Equestrian Sport Federation. The Football club Saburtalo, basketball, as well as the kid’s rugby team Chokhosnebi are also in the list of those which we have been endorsing for years and will continue to endorse in the future. VTB Bank Georgia recently became a general sponsor of the business champion’s league in football. We wish all athletes success and we hope that the material support of VTB Bank will play an important role in the development of Georgian sport, will promote its advancement and achievements.
Culture is a field in which VTB Bank Georgia tries to provide significant assistance. Among the projects funded by the Bank are: Rustaveli Theatre, Griboedov Theatre, Lado Meskhishvili Kutaisi Theatre and the ensemble Georgian Voices.
VTB Bank is a permanent partner of the Charity fund Iavnana.
The number of projects financed by VTB Bank determines the high corporate and social responsibility of the Bank. We are pleased that with the financial support of VTB Bank many interesting projects have been implemented and this relationship has been largely successful.
We are very closely involved in education. We signed a strategic partnership with Caucasus University this year. The Bank compensated the tuition fees of three freshmen at CU that successfully passed their entrance exams and gained high scores. We offer internships for students at our banks. After successfully accomplishing the internship the students are then given the opportunity to be employed in various departments and branches of the Bank.
We are doing our best to be active in Georgian society.
Q. What are the principles by which you decide what kind of activity to support?
A. Our desire is to be a part of the victory, success, passion and emotions which sport brings to everyone and for me personally as a Georgian who is living in this country I feel that spirit. That is one of the main motivators for us to support national sport and culture. Education has always been the best direction for investments. Educated people are the core of our country. Today we still find people who cannot afford education due to their financial situations. So given such an unequal environment we try to contribute our small share and encourage students and motivate them to receive appropriate education. Actually there are many different experiences that involvement in a socially responsible project presents to us. These are really unforgettable moments for us as a socially responsible company.
Q. Which CSR activities could be viewed as the most sustainable in Georgia?
A. In general, CSR activities are very important in Georgia. We see that more and more businesses are getting involved in it. And we are really happy to be seeing this. There are lots of companies that are implementing different types of social projects. The potential scale of CSR is unlimited. There is no obligation for corporations to run any one specific project. So, businesses taking on responsibilities in any area are a welcome fact. VTB Bank is involved in various projects. We are happy to support these. However, we cannot be everywhere. We are actively encouraging our partner companies to participate in different social projects. While talking about CSR it is important to implement long-term projects, due to the real and lasting benefits. We are proud that all the projects in which we are involved are not one-handed.
Q. How long-term are your CSR activities?
A. We have been supporting the Iavnana Foundation for ten years. Our cooperation with the Rugby Team goes back more than three years. VTB Bank has also been supporting Kutaisi Drama Theatre for three years. So our long-term vision is devoted to the future of our country, of our children and the growing generation. We will continue to invest a lot in junior sports teams for the healthier and better future of our nation.
Q. What are your activities in terms of internal CSR?
A. In the last two weeks we announced 100 new jobs. It was really great news. Currently we employ 1,100 workers. And this number will be growing. From January we launched the second stage of our new banker’s programme – VTB Generation. This is a good opportunity for gifted youngsters that are interested in the banking sector to get qualified trainings and to later start working. The programme is already quite popular. Last year we trained 25 applicants and out of them 23 are now counted among our staff members. We are doing our best to stimulate our employees with various trainings to increase literacy and growth skills. The average salary at VTB Bank Georgia is GEL 1,600. This is a good figure and quite competitive for the market.
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