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Latvian Bank Postpones Commencing Operation in Azerbaijan

Business Materials 10 April 2008 17:22 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, 10 April / Trend corr I. Khalilova/ Due to the strained situation in the world financial system, Latvian Parex Bank has postponed its plans on commencing its operation and opening of a branch in Azerbaijan, Oleg Karpov, the Senior Vice-President and Deputy Head of Marketing and Sales Department at Parex Asset Management IPAS, said. [Parex Bank has a representative office in Baku].

"It very difficult nowadays to disperse, because the world banking sector is experiencing a strained situation. Therefore, it is very necessary to concentrate the power in only one direction. Probably our plans will be postponed due to the uneasy situation in the world economy," Karpov said.

According to him, at present the bank is rapidly developing towards the West by opening a range of representative offices in Germany (Munich, Hamburg, Berlin) and several branches in Sweden.

He said that the decision on opening of the Parex Bank branch in Azerbaijan would be favourable and well-timed, but the time for implementation of the plans on commencing the operations of the bank in the country has not yet been specified.  

"Though the world fiscal crisis has not touched the Azerbaijani banking system, Parex Bank cannot consider Azerbaijan separate from the world economy, even if the situation in the country is really exclusive," Karpov said.

"It is wrong to make any step at such an inappropriate moment as the crisis is still going on, especially in Europe and the U.S," said Karpov.

Parex Bank has a presentation in Azerbaijan, only one in the Trans Caucasus. The bank has founded Parex Leasing as well. There is only one leasing company in Georgia with a possibility of establishing the presentation of a bank or Parex Asset Management in the future. Bank has a branch in Kazakhstan, only one in CIS.

Rufat Aslanli, the Deputy Chairman of Board of Directors of National Bank of Azerbaijan, said earlier that the possibility of establishing the bank in Azerbaijan is being studied. According him, Parex Bank is going to appeal NBA and it is not available yet in what form the bank will be represented in the country.

Azerbaijani banks are interested in European markets as well.

"We are studying the procedure of opening our branches and subsidiaries, presentations in Latvia," said Aslanli. 

The correspondent can be contacted at: [email protected]

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