The First International Caucasus Banking & Finance Conference - 2006 started in Baku on 13 June 2006.
In his opening address the chairman of the National Bank of Azerbaijan (NBA), Elman Rustamov, Azerbaijan occupies a leading position for the dynamic of economic development. The economic achievements enable to put forward a new doctrine, which is intended to target the socio-economic development for gradual proximity to indices of the world leading countries, he emphasized.
Rustamov stressed the necessity of establishment of the non-oil economy and the banking sector should play a role of locomotive in this process Over the past 10 years the banking sector has seen both qualitative and quantitative changes in correspondence with the market economy, he added.
Today private bank system carries out over half of banking services. Over past period here was observed a consolidation of banks, as result of which their number reduced from 250 to 44. The capitalization of banks increased 4 times, the profitability from 14% to 19%. The rest indicators demonstrated a doubled rise, the head of the NBA underlined.