Baku, Azerbaijan, June 28
By Sara Israfilbayova – Trend:
Azerbaijani bank sector capital has increased, and some banks have returned to profitability, IMF Mission Chief for Azerbaijan Natalia Tamirisa said in an interview with Trend.
The new NPL (non-performing loans) program will further raise capital and liquidity in the system, she said.
“FIMSA (Financial Market Supervisory Authority of Azerbaijan) is conducting inspections and is updating its regulations,” she noted. “While the sector is recovering, additional efforts are needed to promote its health and resilience.”
“We think that addressing remaining NPLs and upgrading financial sector regulations and supervision are essential to improve confidence in the system and to prevent a build-up of future vulnerabilities,” she added.
Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on additional measures in connection with solving the issue of the individuals’ problem loans. The decree envisages the payment of compensation to citizens whose loan burden increased as a result of the devaluation of the manat in February and December 2015.
The decree also creates opportunities for restructuring on concessional terms of both US dollar and manat loans with a delay of more than 360 days.
Azerbaijani Finance Minister Samir Sharifov said that it is also planned to launch a program to resolve problem loans of legal entities.
----
Follow the author on Twitter: @IsrafilbekovaS