Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 3 / Trend N. Ismayilova /
In a report issued today 29 September 2011, Standard & Poor's affirmed for the 10th consecutive year its 'AAA' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term credit ratings of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) with a Stable Outlook.
Standard & Poor's stated that the IDB's ratings are underpinned by strong shareholders' support, very high level of capital and liquidity and a good asset portfolio with preferred-creditor treatment and historically very low losses.
It is worth mentioning that, a few weeks ago, another credit rating agency, MOODY'S had also awarded IDB the highest rating for the sixth consecutive year.
Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Ali, President of the IDB, praised the strong and generous support of the Member Countries and congratulated the staff of the IDB Group for this achievement. He highlighted that during the recent years, "IDB continued its efforts to reform itself with a view to strengthening performance through improved governance and organizational efficiencies. This will help achieve greater developmental impact in consonance with the Year 2020 Vision".
The Islamic Development Bank is an international financial institution established in pursuance of the Declaration of Intent issued by the Conference of Finance Ministers of Muslim Countries held in Jeddah in December 1973.
Azerbaijan has been an IDB member since 1992. Today, the IDB portfolio in the country has reached $700 million. The IDB changed their approach to financing projects in Azerbaijan by increasing the maximum amount of credit allocated for one project nearly five times. Earlier, the limit of financing a project was set between $30-40 million by the IDB. The bank can now allocate up to $150 million.