Deposits provide 40% funding of Azerbaijan`s banking system

The deposits of the population provide more than 40 percent of funding of the Azerbaijani banks.

The General Director of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan Rashad Orujov said at a "Development of interbank cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan" round table within 5th Azerbaijani-Russian interregional cooperation forum, which is underway on June 23-24 in Gabala.

"Over the past five years, their volume increased 3.4 times, and we note a positive trend of specific weight growth of the deposits in the national currency, which reached more than 60 percent of the total deposit base of the Azerbaijani banks. Deposits of the population, being one of the most important indicators of trust to the banking system, also play a crucial role as resources for implementation of normal activities of the banks," he said.

Since 2008, the banking market grew more than two times, according to Orujov.

"The average annual growth in the banking system amounted to about 15 percent over five years. The growth rate in the pre-crisis period were even higher, albeit against a background of low deposit base, which is now quite impressive. We believe that the annual growth of assets by 15 - 20 percent is a very good and stable rate. The institutional capacity of the banks grows steadily on this basis. The loan portfolio of the banking sector has also grown more than two times over the years, exceeding 15 billion AZN, with an average annual growth rate of 17 percent," he added.

Some 46 banks operated in Azerbaijan in 2008 and 2009, and in 2010 their number increased by 47 in the beginning of the year, and fell to 45 in the last quarter. In the beginning of 2011, the number of operating banks fell to 44, and since the third quarter of 2012, there have been 43 banks operating in the country. From May 2014 the number was again brought to 44 regarding the restoration of the license of one of the liquidated banks [Kauthar Bank].


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