On February 28, 2023, members of the movement “Khma” gathered outside the head office of Liberty Bank, demanding the cancellation of pension loans. Liberty Bank was responsible for distributing pensions and issuing loans to people of retirement age. During the protest, participants entered the bank’s lobby, lay down on the floor, and stated that they would not leave the premises unless they received a commitment that the loans would be written off. Protesters chanted slogans such as “Down with Liberty Bank” and “Cancel fraudulently issued pension loans.”

According to the outlet Publika, after business hours, the bank’s security personnel forcibly removed the protesters from the building. During the ensuing scuffle, journalists were also obstructed while performing their work.

The protest followed a statement published by “Khma” on January 5, 2023, which stated: “More than 400,000 Georgian pensioners owe Liberty Bank 420 million GEL. Pension loans are a clear example of the predatory and antisocial policies entrenched in our country. Utility payments, public transport cards, and even pensions—which are, in reality, a form of social assistance—have been transformed into banking products. […] We demand that loans taken by pensioners at exploitative interest rates be written off—loans they took for healthcare, food, and urgent needs—and that the state assume responsibility for distributing pensions.”

The protest also responded to a government decision to reduce interest rates on pension loans to 26%. This decision was adopted in February 2022 and came into effect in 2023. Prior to the reform, interest rates exceeded 30%. The reduction followed a statement by the Public Defender’s Office, which noted that Liberty Bank, in setting interest rates, failed to adequately consider the differing socio-economic conditions of social loan recipients, thereby placing them in unjustifiably disadvantaged positions. According to the Public Defender, in 2022, as a result of the interest rate in force (30.69%), the total amount repayable to the bank ultimately exceeded the original loan principal by approximately 75%.