Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
The volume of manat deposits in Azerbaijan’s AccessBank increased by 40 percent during the last months, having reached about 100 million manats, Chairman of the Management Board of AccessBank Michael Hoffmann told reporters in Baku Oct. 7.
Deposits and funds of the bank’s partners are major source of issuing loans for AccessBank, he said. Currently, a lot of foreign partners started to provide the bank with funds denominated in Azerbaijani manats, he added.
There are also funds among them which were partly issued through a hedging mechanism [used in protecting one's capital against effects of inflation through investing in high-yield financial instruments (bonds, notes, shares), real estate, or precious metals], because borrowers in Azerbaijan have great demand for national currency, Hoffmann noted.
The bank’s loan portfolio is about $450 million, or about 700 million manats, he said. AccessBank’s microcredit portfolio is $130 million, Hoffmann said, noting that the decline in the loan portfolio is due to the fact that currently the demand for loans in Azerbaijan’s market is limited.
During the last months, the bank was working intensively with clients to restructure their loans, he added. The most important thing for the bank is the relationship with customers and their trust, Hoffmann noted.
There are customers who have difficulties repaying the loans, so the bank tries to extend the repayment period and adapt the monthly payment on the loan to the incomes of customers, he said.
At the same time, Hoffmann noted that because of the high stability of AccessBank, its highest credit rating in Azerbaijan and recognition by reputable financial institutions, the client base of the bank among corporate entities has increased in recent years.
AccessBank was founded in 2002 by organizations such as the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, EBRD, IFC, KfW, a German consulting company LFS Financial Systems (LFS) and AccessHolding. AccessBank – one of the leading banks of Azerbaijan, offers a full range of banking services and has an extensive branch network, which employs about 1,800 people.