BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 30. Physical
currency held outside banks accounted for 10.4% of Georgia's broad
money supply (M3) in August 2026, compared with 11.4% a year
earlier.
This is according to Trend's calculations based on National Bank of Georgia
(NBG) monetary statistics.
The NBG's data show that currency outside banks (M0) stood at
6.44 billion lari ($2.46 billion) in August 2026, while total M3
reached 61.81 billion lari ($23.64 billion). In August 2025, the
ratio stood at approximately 11.4%, according to Trend's calculations,
indicating a decline of approximately 0.94 percentage points over
the year.
According to Trend's calculations, over the same period the share
of M1 — narrow money comprising cash and transferable deposits —
within M3 increased slightly, to approximately 36% from an
estimated 34.5% a year earlier. This reflects a change in the
composition of liquid money holdings, with transferable deposits
accounting for a larger share within M1.
The change is consistent with broader developments in payment
practices and banking-sector deposit products in Georgia, although
the NBG's data release does not identify specific factors behind
changes in the composition of the money supply.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s gross international reserves
reached an all-time high of $8.14 billion as of August 2026, up
56.4% year-on-year. The NBG’s monetary policy rate remained at
8.25% in September 2026.
