Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 19
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
Banking system of Azerbaijan is undergoing a much needed consolidation and restructuring process given weak bank profitability and a significant deterioration in balance sheets, Mohammed El Qorchi, mission chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Azerbaijan, said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
Azerbaijan’s Financial Market Supervisory Body has taken a number of measures to stabilize the situation, he said.
“These have included stepped up bank inspections and stress testing, closing unviable banks, and where needed, requiring increases in bank capital,” he added.
He noted that specifying an exact number of banks necessary for Azerbaijan’s market would be counterproductive.
“Instead, it is more important to focus having a healthy, efficient, and competitive banking system which provides financial intermediation services,” El Qorchi said.
Licenses of 10 banks were cancelled by Azerbaijan’s Financial Market Supervisory Body during 2016.
Thirty-three banks currently operate in Azerbaijan.
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