Up 7%, is this FTSE 250 stock the UK’s best banking share?
The Lion Finance (LSE:BGEO) share price has surged again, making it the FTSE 250‘s biggest riser on Wednesday (25 February). At £110.40 per share, the banking stock’s up 7% on the day.
Shareholders have become used to this sort of stunning performance. The stock formerly known as Bank of Georgia has rocketed more than 1,000% in value during the last five years.
That’s a stunning result by any measure. But to put it into further context, Lloyds‘ share price has risen 165% over the period. Barclays and NatWest meanwhile have risen 191% and 206%, respectively.
The question is, could Lion Finance be the best banking share on London’s stock market?
Profits jump
It rocketed again today after releasing forecast-beating trading numbers for last year.
In 2025, the firm — which provides banking services in Georgia and Armenia — saw net interest income leaping 26% to GEL3bn. Robust economic growth in these emerging markets drove customer loans and deposits 20% and 17% higher, respectively.
As a consequence, underlying profits surged 28% year on year, to GEL2.2m. Lion said its bottom line was “driven by strong loan book expansion, customer franchise growth, and sustained profitability across all core business divisions.”
Share buybacks
Like all the FTSE 100‘s major banks, Lion Finance has strong financial foundations. And at the end of 2025 its Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio was 17.6%.
This gives it enormous financial firepower to invest for growth. But that’s not all. It also provides scope for the bank to pay large and growing dividends and launch sizeable share buybacks.
Lion hiked the full-year dividend 16.7% for 2025, and today announced the repurchase of another GEL53.5m worth of shares, taking the total for last year to GEL203m.
This tallies up with the bank’s goal of returning 30% to 50% of annual profits to shareholders, and gave the share price an extra boost.
Is Lion Finance the best bank?
Opinions will differ as to whether this is the UK’s best banking stock and the idea of ‘the best’ is, of course, subjective. But I think a case can be made for it. I personally certainly prefer it to UK-focused banks like Lloyds. That’s due to its far superior growth prospects and therefore capacity for sustained share price outperformance.
That’s not to say there aren’t potential challenges here. Political difference in Georgia between pro-Russia and EU-aligned political forces creates policy uncertainty. And they’re unlikely to be resolved any time soon. The final outcome could have serious consequences for Georgia’s economy and by extension Lion’s profits.
But could this be baked into the current cheapness of the bank’s shares? I think so, with its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 7.7 times far lower than any of these FTSE 100 banks.
On balance, I think it’s a top FTSE 250 share to consider right now. But it’s not the only top growth stock that’s grabbed my eye.
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Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Barclays Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.
