Lion Finance Group Q1 2026 results: a strong banking quarter with cash coming back to shareholders
Lion Finance Group has posted a very solid first quarter for 2026. Profit came in at GEL 585.0 million, up 14.0% year-on-year, and return on average equity, or ROAE – a measure of how efficiently a bank turns shareholder capital into profit – was a chunky 27.4%.
For retail investors, the headline is simple enough. The business is still growing nicely in both Georgia and Armenia, credit quality remains healthy, and management is confident enough to declare a GEL 2.85 per share quarterly dividend and launch another GEL 55.0 million share buyback and cancellation programme.
Key Lion Finance Group Q1 2026 numbers investors should know
| Metric | 1Q26 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Profit | GEL 585.0 million | +14.0% y-o-y |
| Operating income | GEL 1,125.8 million | +15.0% y-o-y |
| Operating income before cost of risk | GEL 735.9 million | +15.7% y-o-y |
| ROAE | 27.4% | vs 28.7% in 1Q25 |
| Loan book | GEL 41,881.9 million | +23.1% y-o-y in constant currency |
| Client deposits and notes | GEL 39,699.0 million | +17.5% y-o-y in constant currency |
| NPL ratio | 2.1% | stable y-o-y |
| Quarterly dividend | GEL 2.85 per share | Declared |
| New buyback programme | GEL 55.0 million | Approved |
Profit growth was strong, and it was driven by proper banking income
This wasn’t a quarter built on accounting smoke or some one-off windfall. Lion Finance Group said there were no one-off items in 1Q26, so the reported profit is clean and easier to trust.
The main engine was net interest income – the difference between what the bank earns on loans and pays on deposits and funding – which rose to GEL 809.6 million, up 18.4%. Fee and commission income also did plenty of heavy lifting, with net fee and commission income up 27.5% to GEL 176.0 million.
That matters because it shows the group is not relying on one single lever. Lending is growing, customer activity is rising, and more people are using its banking platforms often enough to generate recurring fee income.
Georgia and Armenia are both delivering, with Armenia growing faster
The group’s Georgian Financial Services division, which includes Bank of Georgia, remains the biggest earnings contributor. GFS made a profit of GEL 452.1 million, up 11.6%, with an eye-catching 31.5% ROAE.
Armenian Financial Services, which includes Ameriabank, is smaller but growing faster. AFS delivered profit of GEL 129.4 million, up 35.5%, with ROAE of 21.8%.
That mix is attractive. Georgia provides scale and high profitability, while Armenia is adding extra growth to the story. Group loan growth was 23.1% in constant currency, with GFS up 17.8% and AFS up 34.6%.
Deposits were healthy too, up 17.5% in constant currency across the group. That is important because loan growth funded by a growing deposit base is usually a better quality growth story than one fuelled mainly by wholesale borrowing.
Digital banking growth is still a big part of the Lion Finance investment case
The customer franchise is still expanding, and that is one of the most encouraging parts of this update. Bank of Georgia’s retail Digital MAU – monthly active users of its digital channels – rose 13.6% to 1.9 million, while Ameriabank’s surged 47.8% to more than 362 thousand.
This is more than a vanity metric. More active digital users usually means more payments, more product sales, stickier customer relationships and, over time, better efficiency. Bank of Georgia also said 71% of products were sold through retail digital channels, which tells you digital adoption is turning into actual business.
Dividend and buyback: why shareholder returns matter here
Management has backed up the strong quarter with cash returns. The board declared an interim dividend of GEL 2.85 per ordinary share for 1Q26, with payment due on 10 July 2026.
On top of that, it approved a further GEL 55.0 million share buyback and cancellation programme. Buybacks reduce the share count when the shares are cancelled, which can support earnings per share and book value per share over time.
This follows the completion of the previous GEL 53.5 million buyback announced in February. For investors, the message is clear: management thinks the capital position is strong enough to fund growth and still return money.
Asset quality and capital strength look reassuring
When a bank is growing this quickly, you always want to check whether credit quality is starting to wobble. So far, that does not look like the case.
The group’s NPL ratio – non-performing loans as a percentage of gross loans – was 2.1%, flat on the quarter. The cost of credit risk ratio, which shows how much the bank is setting aside for expected loan losses, was 0.3%, in line with 4Q25 and only slightly above 0.2% in 1Q25.
Capital and liquidity were also comfortably above regulatory minimums in both key markets. That is exactly what you want to see from a bank that is still lending hard and still paying out capital.
What was less impressive in the Q1 2026 results
It was not all perfect. Operating expenses rose 13.8% to GEL 390.3 million, mainly driven by higher staff costs. The cost:income ratio was still a healthy 34.7%, but investors should keep an eye on whether wage inflation starts to eat into the margin story.
There was also a weaker contribution from foreign exchange income. Net foreign currency gain fell 10.6% year-on-year to GEL 130.1 million, reflecting lower volatility. That is not a disaster, but it does remove one earnings tailwind that helped in more turbulent periods.
AFS also saw its net interest margin fall to 5.9% from 6.3% in 4Q25 as funding costs ticked higher. Again, not alarming, but worth watching if competition for deposits heats up further.
And the Other Businesses division was weak, with profit down 71.9% to GEL 3.5 million. The group said this was mainly due to lower dealing income at BNB in Belarus because of increased competition and lower FX volatility.
Macro backdrop in Georgia and Armenia still supports growth, but risks are real
Management sounds upbeat on the economies it serves. It raised its 2026 real GDP forecasts to 7.0% for Georgia and 6.0% for Armenia, which gives the group a supportive backdrop for further lending growth.
That said, it also flagged risks from conflict escalation in the Middle East, mainly through energy prices and inflation. In Georgia, inflation hit 5.9% year-on-year in April and the National Bank of Georgia raised its refinancing rate to 8.25%.
Higher rates can help bank margins up to a point, but they can also squeeze borrowers and raise future credit risk if they stick around too long. So the macro picture is favourable, but it is not risk-free.
My take on Lion Finance Group shares after this RNS
This looks like a genuinely strong update. Profit is up, the loan book is growing fast, deposits are keeping pace, bad debts are under control, and shareholders are getting both a dividend and a buyback. That is a pretty convincing package.
The biggest positive, in my view, is the balance between growth and discipline. Lion Finance Group is not just chasing volume – it is still producing a 27.4% ROAE while keeping the NPL ratio at 2.1%. That is the sort of combination that deserves attention.
The main negatives are rising costs, softer FX income and some margin pressure in Armenia. But those feel manageable rather than thesis-breaking based on what is disclosed here.
Overall, this RNS strengthens the case that Lion Finance Group remains a high-return regional banking business with decent growth and a clear commitment to shareholder distributions. If you already own the shares, this is the kind of update you would want to see. If you are watching from the sidelines, it is another reminder that this is not a sleepy bank story.
Where to read more on Lion Finance Group results
Investors wanting the full quarterly materials can use the company’s results centre here: https://lionfinancegroup.uk/results-center/quarterly-earnings/.
