Times of Malta has reported that the Bank of Georgia (JSC) has submitted a bid to purchase HSBC Malta but this bid is very strange because I could not find any references or announcements by the banking about expanding into Europe let alone declaring an interest in purchasing a European bank. The bank also seems to have deals with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. What the bank is doing by submitting a bid for a bank in Malta is highly experimental and very unlikely to be accepted by the Maltese regulator.
Bank of Georgia is owned by Lion Finance Group which is a public company listed on the London stock exchange. Lion Finance Group is owned by Georgia Capital – also a PLC which has a stake of up to 20% in the company. The other owners all seem to be investment and mutual funds. The bank operates in the UK and Georgia.
The bank is also small although it is larger than HSBC Malta: it and had revenues of €895.8 million and a profit of €378.6 million for 2023. By contrast, HSBC Malta had revenues of €267.2 million and a profit of €154.5 million for 2024. Lion Finance Group can probably easily raise the financing for the purchase of HSBC Malta: it has a current market capitalisation on the London stock exchange of up to £3.35 billion.
Conducting due diligence on the bank is not an easy matter due to its complex ownership structure that hides the key individuals who have extensive control and influence on the bank. In addition, Georgia is currently under the control of a Russian-puppet government, and should be considered as a high risk jurisdiction in financial and banking matters. Any significant banking and financial institution in Georgia right now is probably highly engaged in extensive business and trading with Russian sources directly or indirectly via third-parties.
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