Baku, Azerbaijan, June 8
By Zulfiyya Qurbanova - Trend:
Azerbaijani banks increased lending to the economy by 24.8 percent in January-April 2014 compared to the same period of 2013.
The banks delivered loans totaling 16.245.4 billion manat including 11.759.8 billion manat (72.4 percent) in national currency and 4.485.6 billion manat (27.6 percent) in freely convertible currency for the reporting period, according to the statistics report of Azerbaijani Central Bank.
For comparison, the figure was equal to 13.019.5 billion manat (9.107 billion manat in national currency and 3.912.5 billion manat in freely convertible currency) in January-April 2013.
Of the total portfolio, loans worth 895.6 million manat (5.5 percent) were overdue compared to 754.7 million manat as of January-April 2013. Statistics of overdue loans does not include similar loans of the non-banking credit institution Aqrarkredit. Overdue loans increased by 18.7 percent per year.
Short term loans amounted to 3.572 billion manat including overdue loans worth 408 million manat compared to 3.139.8 billion manat including overdue loans worth 375.1 million manat as of January-April 2013. The volume of short term loans in the economy increased by 13.8 percent per year.
As of January-April 2014, the volume of long term loans amounted to 12.673.4 billion manat including 487.7 million manat in overdue loans compared to 9.879.6 billion manat including 379.6 million manat of overdue loans as of January-April 2013. The long term loans increased by 28.3 percent per year.
The credit portfolio of the only state bank in the country, the International Bank of Azerbaijan, hit 5.534.4 billion manat with a specific weight of 34.1 percent, while private banks issued loans worth 10.241.2 billion manat with a specific weight of 63 percent. The remaining 2.9 percent fell to the share of non-bank credit organizations. They issued 469.8 million manat, according to the CBA.
Most of all loans are granted to households in Azerbaijan. As of January-April 2014, households received 40.7 percent or 6.610.9 billion manat, according to the CBA.
The trade and service sector (14.3 percent or 2.322.4 billion manat) ranks second, the construction and real estate sector (13.1 percent or 2.127 billion manat) ranks third.
The industrial and production sector received 11.7 percent of the total lending amount of the Azerbaijani real sector, which hits 1.908 billion manat in nominal terms. It should be stressed that this sector obtained a great volume of lending in connection with the announcement of 2014 as the Year of Industry. For comparison, as of 2013, the industrial sector received only 9.8 percent of the total volume of loans in the country's economy.
Some 3.6 percent (586.3 million manat) fall to the transport and communication, 4.6 percent (750.5 million manat) - agriculture and processing, 1.6 percent (259 million manat) - energy, chemistry, and natural resources, 10.4 percent or 1.689.5 billion manat loans - on the other spheres.
Some 44 banks operate in Azerbaijan.
The official exchange rate is 0.7843 AZN/USD on June 8.