London-listed Georgian banks slip after EU talks halted

Shares in London-Listed Georgian banks fell on Friday, as traders reacted to Thursday’s news that the Georgian government would suspend talks on European Union accession and refuse budgetary grants until 2028.

TBC Bank was down 7.4 per cent by 1030 GMT, at the bottom of the FTSE 350, while Bank of Georgia had lost 6.4 per cent.

Georgia’s sovereign dollar bonds nudged lower on the day, with the 2026 maturity down 0.2 cents to be bid at 94.39 cents in the dollar, Tradeweb data showed.

Georgian assets have been jittery since the October election, in which the Georgian Dream party claimed victory with almost 54 per cent of ballots cast. Opposition parties, however, have said the vote was fraudulent and refused to take their seats in parliament.

Georgian Dream, seen as being controlled by its billionaire founder and former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has forged closer ties with Russia and China in recent years.

On Thursday the European Parliament voted to withhold recognition of the election and called for sanctions on key Georgian Dream figures.

“The negative sentiment relayed market concerns about the legitimacy of the election outcome and rising risks of sanctions escalation from the West,” said Henry Burdon, economist at market data company Tellimer.

“Although these headwinds are unlikely to impact repayment of the 26s given the short time to maturity, they remain important considerations for investors in Georgia’s broader investment complex.”