Former IMF economist becomes Georgia's c.bank governor

Gvenetadze, who had been nominated by the country's president and is yet to receive his final approval, demonstrated that his views largely concurred with the current policies pursued by the central bank.

During parliamentary committee hearings, Gvenetadze indicated he was in favour of keeping the financial supervisory agency within the central bank rather than transferring it to a separate agency. This stance on a contentious issue is in line with the central bank's approach.

Last July Georgian President Georgy Margvelashvili vetoed a widely-criticised bill that would have stripped the central bank of its supervisory functions over the banking sector.

International financial institutions, business associations, opposition parties and civil society groups had criticised the bill, saying it could be prone to political meddling.

The Georgian parliament overturned the president's veto, but the bill was taken to the constitutional court, which suspended its enforcement pending a final verdict.

The ruling Georgian Dream coalition has often been critical of the central bank's former chief, Georgy Kadagidze, the only high-ranking official remaining in place from the administration of Georgia's former president Mikheil Saakashvili.

Kadagidze said that enacting the bill would weaken the central bank and damage the banking sector and investment climate.