NBG Governor: Strong GDP growth driven by banking sector investment despite global headwinds

“Georgia’s economy expanded by an average of 7.4 per cent over the first nine months of 2026,” National Bank of Georgia (NBG) Governor Natia Turnava announced on Monday.

Presenting the draft Main Directions of Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy for 2027–2029 to Parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee, Turnava emphasised the healthy structural makeup of this growth, propelled by high-productivity and relatively low-import sectors.

Turnava highlighted information and communications, transport, and financial activities as key drivers, singling out the banking sector as the single largest contributor to capital investment.

Such structural composition expands the nation’s productive capacity and helps neutralise inflationary pressures stemming from robust aggregate demand, the central bank chief noted.

Under the NBG’s updated baseline forecast, Georgia’s GDP growth is projected at 7.2 per cent for 2026, before gradually moderating toward its long-term sustainable rate of 5.5 per cent in 2027.

These structural shifts have also fortified Georgia’s external position. Georgia’s current account deficit shrank to a record low of 2.9 per cent of GDP in 2025 before narrowing further to 2.5 per cent in H1 2026, buoyed by solid trade in goods and services.

The strengthening external balance has helped anchor currency stability. By September 2026, the real effective exchange rate (REER) had appreciated by 4 per cent year-on-year, mitigating imported inflationary pressures amid elevated global price volatility.