Bank of Georgia for Personal Account?

[Silvio]

Thinking of opening a personal account at BoG, anybody with experience with them wants to share?

Basically the point is to keep some money there, and spend using a debit card (I don't intend to wire too often to\from the account)

My concern is stability of the country, and if wires TO the account would be flagged as shady. Also, I'm hearing from Georgian friends bad things about BoG, saying that TBC is a lot better.

 

[TurnedToRobot]

I wonder why you then ask here on the‍ forum?

Why do⁠ you want to pick Georgia as a country then?

 

[Silvio]

I wonder why you reply to my questions with more questions... If you have nothing‌ to add you don't have to join the thread.

The point of the thread is‍ very clear, I share what I've heard and ask if anybody else has any experience⁠ they can share.

 

[Mark Rucken]

I assume you are going for Georgia because they did not sign CRS? If that‌ is the case, go for Serbia, you have a few big (foreign) banks in Serbia‍ (Sparkasse, Unicredit, Societe, Intesa) that open private non-resident accounts in 10 minutes. You would need⁠ to visit tho.

I have been in touch with one banker in Bank of Georgie⁤ who asked for 400k EUR deposit for a corporate account. I kindly thanked him for⁣ the feedback xD

 

[7889]

What is it with you and Georgia FUD?
I'll just leave Georgia Heritage review‍ here - Georgia Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI, Corruption so anyone could decide⁠ for themselves
TBC bank is admittedly better than BOG for regular customer, it has lower⁤ fees and better trained staff. If you are looking for personal manager kind of banking⁣ (TBC Status / BOG Solo) - no considerable difference.
TBC however, unlike other banks, does⁢ not under any circumstances allow remote account opening with Power of Attorney.

 

[7889]

That is 100% BS

 

[Mark Rucken]

I am copying below a quote‌ from the banker from BoG. This was related to account opening for Belize IBC

"When our back office will receive all needed documents, the minimum amount to be deposit is‍ USD 400,000. Of course the client will be receiving interest"

I know it sounds crazy,⁠ but that is what they sent me. Maybe they just wanted to get rid of⁤ me. If that was the case, then they are very unprofessional.

 

[Martin Everson]

Been with them for years since I used to‍ live in Georgia. No bad experiences with them in over 5 years. BOG is listed⁠ on UK stock exchange so is transparent.

I also bank with TBC another UK stock exchanged listed bank and VTB⁢ and a few other banks 😉. However a TBC exec fell out with a certain︀ wealthy political elite in Georgia and a witch hunt has damaged their reputation with accusations︁ of management involved in money laundering. I had to move my funds to ProCredit as︂ a precaution as this person went after TBC in a big way.

Saying which is︃ better is like saying which is better between Barclays or HSBC. Your gonna find cheerleaders︄ of each bank and critics of each. Georgia like Kazakhstan is a growth story. Their︅ currency is stable. They have de-dollarized their domestic property loan market. I have had only︆ good experience with Georgia in general but like any country there is a shady side︇ that most don't see.

 

[sialala]

So keeping a money in Georgia's banks is safe ? hi%#

 

[Martin Everson]

Georgia as a whole has a poor sovereign rating and hence its banks ratings can‍ never be above that of the country itself no matter how good the banks are.⁠ Ask the rating agencies. If things go wrong in Georgia your money is all gone⁤ like......poof!!!

Georgia is a developing country having come out of a conflict. It is no⁣ Switzerland or even remotely close. It is just a country in the east you can⁢ use for diversification.

 

[GrumpyMess]

Why have you moved out of the country if it worked for you?

 

[TurnedToRobot]

Georgia in general sounds interesting the same for banking. I just wonder why there isn't‌ any professional company around that provide services to open company and bank account.

 

[7889]

There are dozens

 

[Martin Everson]

Two legged creature with breasts drew me away 😉.

 

[Flatworld]

the BOG told me their internet︄ banking has error...and I can't transfer money to other people...and it may take one week︅ to fix this error....

one week.....!

 

[sialala]

LoL week.. ain't acceptable in banking in this times !

 

[TurnedToRobot]

Is this really true! OMG that can't be true.

 

[Martin Everson]

One week is that all? smi(&% Remember TSB Bank in UK IT outage last‍ year? That went on for weeks. See time line below...lol.

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...e-of-trouble-how-the-tsb-it-meltdown-unfolded

 

[Flatworld]

....What's the f**k....= =

 

[Flatworld]

100% true...