MAIB is the largest bank in Moldova, accounting for around 30% of the country’s banking assets and around 35% of loans. MAIB provides 24.6% of all mortgage loans extended to Moldovans. MAIB booked an average 11.4% asset growth, 11.7% deposit growth and 8.9% profit growth in the last five years. The bank serves over 20% of Moldova’s population and is among the largest employers in the country. The bank is widely recognised for its customer service and product innovation. Since 2018, MAIB’s largest shareholder is HEIM Partners Limited, a UK-registered company, representing a consortium of investors composed of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Invalda INVL, a leading asset management group in the Baltics and Horizon Capital, and Horizon Capital, an Emerging Europe-focused private equity funds manager. Giorgi Shagidze was appointed as CEO of MAIB in 2021.
CEO of MAIB
What is MAIB’s role and position in the Moldovan banking sector?
MAIB is the leading bank in Moldova with a market share of around 30%, and it is present in all market segments: retail, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, corporate, leasing and investment services.
With about one million clients, MAIB is a successful and dynamically developing Bank that helps the clients to succeed in their lives and businesses, and also having a positive impact on the business environment of the country and overall investment climate.
Moldova is an attractive banking market with low levels of banking penetration, which creates good opportunities for growth at acceptable risk levels. For example, the loan to GDP ratio in Moldova is about 20%.
What are your plans and strategic goals for the future?
MAIB’s plans for the future can be categorised in four key strategic areas:
Firstly, we plan to move on to a new level of customer experience. Customer will need to become the centre of our attention. This will obviously require harmonisation on many initiatives across employees, structure, culture, processes and all systems.
Secondly, we aim to become the orchestrator of digital financial ecosystems. Currently, MAIB holds good positions in digital banking products and services and they need to be taken to a higher level. There are many interesting initiatives and innovations. As a driver of digital ecosystems, MAIB needs to implement all the most advanced, modern and progressive approaches in order to be a leader in this area, satisfying the needs of different types of customers.
Thirdly, MAIB is very well positioned to do an IPO on an international financial market at some point in the future, provided that the shareholders approve this step. This would be a very important decision because it will mean much more than setting a fair price of the shares and, in general, an evaluation of the bank’s capital. The shares’ placement will have an impact on the entire business climate in the country, and in this regard, MAIB can become a flagship for the integration of Moldovan businesses into international financial markets and act as a gateway for bringing new investors into the country.
If we look at the long-term prospects for the development of the bank, then we can discuss how MAIB can use its digital offering to expand regionally.