BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 4
By Eldar Janashvili – Trend:
The forecasts and strategic views of VTB Bank Azerbaijan fully coincide with the forecasts and strategic views of the Azerbaijani government in terms of diversification of the country's national economy, Chairman of board of VTB Bank Azerbaijan Yevgeniy Kirin said.
Kirin made the remark in Baku at the press-conference on the results of the bank’s activity in 2019, Trend reports on March 4.
In particular, the chairman stressed that along with Azerbaijan, the bank is also interested in diversifying the portfolio to protect itself from the high risks associated with dependence on investing a great share of the funds in the development of one particular sphere.
“Thus, while diversifying in accordance with the requirements and trends in the Azerbaijani domestic market, VTB’s portfolio will in some sense be similar in structure to the country's GDP soon,” Kirin said.
“We are also interested in the majority of the funds to be transferred for lending to legal entities,” the chairman said. “We managed to stabilize the loan portfolio in 2019, which is the bank’s main income tool. It increased by 40 percent, while 70 percent of the growth was ensured through corporate loans. Thus, we put the development of business lending at the forefront and the current situation in this sphere meets the country's requirements."
Kirin also commented on the conditions for issuing business loans, stressing that long-term loans are issued for a period of up to five to seven years, depending on the type of activity and client category, which is quite justified because if the business is not repayable for five to seven years, it is necessary to raise the question of the appropriateness of its lending.
“Of course, a great part of corporate loans accounts for the trade sector, which is natural not only for VTB, but also for most banks and markets,” the chairman said. “The reason is that this sector is in great need of loans because of its high turnover.”