Georgian Central Banker Seeks to Renew Trust as Easing Continues
- Interest rates are on ‘downward path,’ Gvenetadze says
- Bank is replenishing reserves after ‘turbulent’ 2015 for lari
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Georgia’s new central bank governor said he’ll repair public confidence in the regulator following bruising confrontations with the government, as he indicated that interest rates will continue to fall.
The monetary authority “lost some credibility” due to a “quite turbulent 2015” amid clashes between the government and his predecessor over the lari’s exchange rate and plans to strip the regulator of its supervisory powers, Koba Gvenetadze said in an interview in the capital, Tbilisi, on Tuesday. The benchmark interest rate is on a “downward path” after a cut of 0.5 percent to 7.5 percent in April, the first reduction since August 2013, as data showed inflationary pressures easing, he said.