Lion Finance Group considers entry into Uzbekistan bank market

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Lion Finance Group, the parent company of Bank of Georgia, is evaluating potential entry into Uzbekistan's banking sector through the acquisition of a major local financial institution, Chief Executive Officer Archil Gachechiladze told Bloomberg.

Gachechiladze said the group intends to scale Bank of Georgia's digital banking model into new markets, targeting major institutions ranking among the top three to five largest banks in a given country. "The top three is preferable. We don't go for small banks," Gachechiladze stated. The executive did not name specific acquisition targets in Uzbekistan, and no formal negotiations or proposals have been reported.

According to data from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, the country's five largest state-owned banks by assets are the National Bank of Uzbekistan, Agrobank, Uzpromstroybank (SQB), Asakabank, and Xalq Banki.

Uzbekistan's ongoing banking privatization strategy creates potential M&A opportunities. Under the updated "Uzbekistan – 2030" strategy, the government plans to reduce the number of state-owned banks from nine in 2026 to seven in 2027, six in 2028, five in 2029, and four by 2030, effectively privatizing five institutions over four years. State budgetary strategy anticipates the eventual privatization of SQB, Asakabank, Aloqabank, and Turonbank. Fitch Ratings considers SQB the state lender best prepared for a sale, while the privatization of Asakabank and Aloqabank could extend closer to 2030.

Beyond state-held entities, private banks represent alternative acquisition pathways. The five largest private banks in Uzbekistan by asset size include Kapitalbank, Ipoteka-bank, Hamkorbank, Ipak Yuli Bank, and Orient Finans Bank.

Lion Finance Group previously expanded its international footprint in 2024 through the US$303.6 million acquisition of Armenia's Ameriabank, which now accounts for nearly a third of the group's total assets. The FTSE 100-listed group holds a market capitalization of approximately £5.8 billion, or US$7.9 billion.

Gachechiladze noted that future international expansion will rely on acquisitions outside Georgia, with the group considering targets in the Baltic states and the Balkans alongside Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in Central Asia.