This World Bank project is being undertaken under the Georgian Programmatic Financial Sector Deepening and Inclusion Project, with funding provided by the Fostering Innovation through Research, Science and Technology Trust Fund (FIRST). It is also consistent with the terms of the World Bank 2019 – 2020 Country Partnership Framework for Georgia.
The project commenced with a 2017 financial consumer protection diagnostic review of relevant parts of the legal and regulatory framework and related market practices. This involved extensive consultations with the National Bank of Georgia and other publc and private sector stakeholders, as well as extensive research on issues relevant to financial access and other inclusion issues, market practices and regulation and consumer protection.
Ongoing implementation support is being provided to the Government of Georgia on key recommendations in the report of the diagnostic review and related reforms. This has included advisory inputs on the consumer protection legal and regulatory framework and financial access reforms and capacity building workshops for the newly established Consumer Protection Department in the National Bank of Georgia.
Ros was the lead consultant in the diagnostic review and provided ongoing technical support up to the end of 2018.