National Bank says reports on fined entity “inaccurate” without context

The National Bank of Georgia on Wednesday said media reports on a fine imposed by the body on a financial institution were “inaccurate” without the context of the recipient of the penalty being only one of entities to be fined over the recent years.

The response came following reports by a number of outlets on Tuesday that said the regulatory body had fined Cartu Bank for failing to provide information within deadlines several times.

In its response, the National Bank highlighted its regulatory activities had encompassed numerous financial institutions in the country.

Despite the detailed explanation, some media outlets shared inaccurate information about the fines imposed on NBG-supervised entities, presenting it as if only one specific financial institution had been fined”, said the NBG.

The following numbers of institutions become subjects of penalties in 2021.

The latter list included 181 entities, among them:

• Currency exchange bureaus: 112
• Microfinance institutions - 32
• Payment service providers - 12
• Commercial Banks - 11
• Lending entities - 6
• Brokerages - 5
• Securities registrars - 3

Calling on media outlets to avoid “misleading” the public by only releasing select data, the NBG also said imposition of fines against financial institutions was “preventative” and used for the purpose of improving the internal control mechanisms”.