Azerbaijan, Baku, 4 August / corr. Trend I.Khalilova / In the first half-year of 2008, the number of banks, which operate with profit, increased to 37 from 35 at the beginning of year and 36 in the same period of 2007, the Azerbaijani National Bank (ANB) said.
Common benefit of banking system rose by 73.2% as compared to 1 July 2007 amounting AZN 117.06mln.
The number of unprofitable banks reduced by two as compared to the beginning of year and rose by one as compared to 1 July 2007. As a result, losses of eight banks amounted to AZN 16.59mln, or 2.5 times more than the figure of the first half-year of 2007 and 2.7 times more than the beginning of 2008.
Financial results of banks' activities (after payment of taxes), in mln AZN:
| Period | Number of Profitable Banks | Common Benefit of Banking System (on Profitable Banks) | Number of Unprofitable Banks | Common Loss of Banking System (on Unprofitable Banks) | Banks' Total Benefit (+) or Loss(-) |
| 01-07-2006 | 37 | 35,04 | 6 | 1,61 | 33,43 |
| 01-07-2007 | 36 | 67,58 | 7 | 6,65 | 60,93 |
| 01-07-2008 | 37 | 117,06 | 8 | 16,59 | 100,47 |
The exchange rate for US dollar was AZN 0.8093 on 2 August.
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