Exchange rate regime

 

Georgia has a floating exchange rate regime. Such a regime is characterized by short-term fluctuations of the exchange rate and its' capacity to absorb shoks. However, in the long run the exchange rate is stable. In Georgia the exchange rate is formed on the foreign exchange market that consists of commercial banks, corporations and individuals interested in trading foreign currencies.

 

Determining the exchange rate

 

The Georgian Lari (GEL) official exchange rate is frequently used for accounting and other official purposes. The official exchange rate of GEL is calculated using the transactions made on the Bmatch platform of the Bloomberg electronic trading system and is published daily on the website of the National Bank.

 

On the Bloomberg electronic trading system, the members of Bmatch platform conduct FX deals on daily basis. Following institutions are eligible to participate in Bmatch trading platform: local Commercial Banks, Microfinance Organizations and other local and foreign companies with the consent of the National Bank. Each business day, the participants of the platform publish their bid/ask quotes in the Bloomberg trading system, these quotes are unrestrictedly available to all Bloomberg users.

 

The official exchange rate of the Georgian lari against the U.S. dollar is calculated each business day. The calculation period is determined as the period spanning from 16:30 of the previous business day to 16:30 of the calculation day within the Bloomberg trade platform, taking into account all registered trades. The official exchange rate of GEL against USD is calculated as the average weighted exchange rate of the registered spot trades on the interbank market during the calculation period within the trade platform. Afterwards, the exchange rate is announced by the NBG and effective on the next day.

 

The official exchange rate of the Georgian lari against other foreign currencies is determined according to the rate on international markets or the issuer country’s domestic interbank currency market (at 15:00) on the basis of cross-currency exchange rates. The sources used for the acquisition of exchange rates are the Reuters and Bloomberg information systems and the corresponding webpages of central banks. The information is received, calculated and disseminated from these systems in an automatic manner.

 

The official exchange rates are published on the NBG’s website no later than 17:00 on the calculation day.

 

	Rules Concerning the Determination of the Official Exchange Rate of the Domestic Currency against Foreign Currencies
	On approval of the rule on activity of foreign exchange market participants 142/04 (Unofficial translation)
	Rule for electronic trading of FX using the Bloomberg trading system (Unofficial translation)