Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 5
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
Plans to open a representative office of PASHA Bank OJSC in Switzerland are not among the strategic objectives for the next three years, the head of the Department for legal and organizational issues of PASHA Bank Shirin Aliyeva told Trend.
The official exchange rate on February 5 is 0. 7844 AZN / USD.
"Currently, we do not consider this possibility because the strategic period, when we were planning to open an office in Switzerland, ended," she said. "The new business strategy of the bank, designed for 2015-2017, doesn't include plans to enter the Swiss market."
Aliyeva said that taking into account the current needs, which the bank's customers have, Turkey and Georgia are the focus.
Since February 2013, a subsidiary of PASHA Bank operates in Georgia. At the end of December 2014, the banking supervisor of Turkey approved the purchase by PASHA Bank of dominant stake of TAIB Bank, which became the second foreign subsidiary of the bank.
"Initially, we considered the Switzerland as a place where the interests of our clients would be represented, but given the economic situation in Europe and the world, the business has more needs for development namely in Turkey, so the project in Switzerland has not received further development," she said.
At the same time, the bank actively supports business relationship with Swiss banks, in particular in terms of customer service and experience sharing, according to the head of department.
"Overall, the institutional communication with Swiss banks is at a high level, but regarding the opening of a representative office, I think that it is unlikely to happen in the next three years, as for this period we are focused on the development of regional offices and representatives," she said.
In 2014, the assets of PASHA Bank OJSC increased by 82.7 percent and reached 1,287 billion AZN.
Bank's loan portfolio increased by 60.4 percent and amounted to 545.2 million AZN compared to the same period in 2013, deposit portfolio increased by 2.8 times - up to 657.47 million AZN. The total amount of deposits of individuals in PASHA Bank at the end of last year amounted to 195.2 million AZN (at a growth of 64.5 percent).
During the year, the total capital of PASHA Bank increased by 46.7 percent and amounted to 340.1 million AZN.
PASHA Bank is a leading corporate bank in Azerbaijan. Established in 2007, it provides a range of corporate banking services including: loans, securities, asset management, and treasury services. PASHA Bank employs circa 300 people across its head office and 9 branches and was declared 'The Best Investment Bank of Azerbaijan' by the Europe Banking Awards 2011, 2012 and 2013, and 'The Best Private Banking in Azerbaijan' by World Finance in 2013.
PASHA Bank is a part of PASHA Group, a major investment-holding group in Azerbaijan, which also includes significant assets in insurance, property development, production of construction materials, tourism and other businesses. Kapital Bank, one of the largest retail banks in Azerbaijan, is also owned by PASHA Group.
Edited by CN
Follow the author on Twitter: @AzadHasanli