Azerbaijan, Baku, October 6 / Trend N. Ismayilova /
Azerbaijani AccessBank monthly increases its portfolio of agricultural lending by $4-5 million, AccessBank general manager Andrew Pospielovsky said.
"Clients are more disciplined and pay off debts to banks in the agricultural sector than customers in other sectors. A higher risk in lending to this sector is related to seasonal phenomena, or crop failure," Pospielovsky said.
"But we are still pleased with risk management and total quality of the portfolio in this sector. We minimize risk by diversifying the portfolio, that is, funding the various regions and sectors. As a result, our agricultural portfolio was evenly distributed across the country," he said.
He said that the agricultural sector is important for the country's economic development. The bank will continue to operate and expand the portfolio in the agricultural sector. AccessBank portfolio on agricultural loans exceeds $50 million, while the number of clients is 35,000 people.
The International Fitch Rating Agency has recognised AccessBank as the most reliable private bank of Azerbaijan (BB+), and the Euromoney Publication Group named AccessBank as "The Best Bank in Azerbaijan" in its 2010 Awards for Excellence. AccessBank is 100 percent foreign owned by six shareholders, consisting of: the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, KfW Development Bank - the Development Bank of the German Government (20 percent per each), Access Microfinance Holding acting in microfinance field as a strategic investor (16.5 percent), and LFS Financial Systems GmbH - a German consulting company (3.5 percent).