BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 23
By Zeyni Jafarov - Trend:
The profitability indicators of the banking sector in Azerbaijan are among the bests in the CIS, Trend reports with reference to Moody's international rating agency.
“This is, in part, due to the fact that the retail segment of the banking sector, which is usually the most labor-intensive and costly, accounts for less than half of this business,” according to the agency.
“The retail segment is growing and lending to individuals increased from 39 percent at the end of 2019 to 41 percent at the beginning of 2021,” the agency’s report said.
At the end of 2020, the ratio of expenses to profits in the banking sector of Azerbaijan amounted to 43 percent, and Azerbaijan was ahead of Ukraine (75 percent), Belarus (52 percent), Russia and Uzbekistan (45 percent) in this indicator.
Earlier, Moody's predicted that real GDP growth in Azerbaijan in 2021 will be 3.5 percent, and it will be supported by the weakening of restrictions related to the coronavirus, as well as an increase in oil and gas production. According to the agency's forecasts, the growth of the Azerbaijani economy in the next two to three years will average about 3 percent.
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