Banks operating in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have not only had the Covid-19 pandemic to contend with, but political turmoil and regional conflicts as well. Disputed presidential and parliamentary elections in 2020 fuelled unrest in Belarus, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, while Armenia and Azerbaijan came to blows over the Caucasus territory of Nagorno–Karabakh and the armed conflict continued in eastern Ukraine.
Unsurprisingly, gross domestic product (GDP) fell in nine of the 11 countries included in The Banker’s 2021 Top 100 CIS Banks ranking. Kyrgyzstan saw the biggest drop in GDP (–10.5%), according to the World Bank, followed by Armenia (–7.8%) and Georgia (–6.0%). Only Tajikistan and Turkmenistan managed to expand their economies during 2020.
