Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
The Azerbaijani entrepreneurs most hit by the pandemic effects are offered restructuring of loans on more suitable terms for them, a source in the country's Avrasiya-Kredit non-banking credit organization (NBCO) told Trend.
The source emphasized that currently, NBCO is considering to provide soft loans in the post-pandemic period.
"The NBCO’s activities cover mainly districts of the country. In remote districts, citizens have difficulties in obtaining loans from traditional banking institutions,” said the source. “These difficulties in many cases are associated with the lack of property guarantees and business operations, as well as with seasonal activities.”
“We should note that one of the differences between banks and non-bank credit organizations in Azerbaijan is the pursuit of the social mission, undertaken by NBCOs. Given that the agricultural industry turned out to be one of the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, a decision was made by the NBCO management board on its exemption from interest and charge on problem loans," the source said.
Touching upon the issue of granting loans, the source stressed that in 2019, over 2,420 private entrepreneurs and individuals were provided loans by Avrasiya-Kredit. The NBCO has been repeatedly awarded by Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association and international organizations for the successful implementation of its social mission.
NBCO also noted that measures have been taken to facilitate the obligations of customers to the organization. The activities of a non-banking organization were synchronized with partner banks, which allowed customers to make payments through numerous branches of these banks by transferring funds to the bank account of the NBCO, that is, on a cashless basis.
Avrasiya-Kredit NBCO lends primarily for agriculture, small business, private entrepreneurship, and consumer loans.
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