Azerbaijani Association of Banks: Azerbaijani banks ready for more balanced activity in 2011

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 5 / Trend N. Ismayilova /

Azerbaijani banks are ready for a more balanced activity in 2011, the head of the Azerbaijani Association of Banks Eldar Ismayilov told Trend.

"Banks considered all their operations more meaningfully in 2010 and served their clients much more strictly. Last year was a year of rethinking of activity for many of Azerbaijani banks. Many of them summed up their 15 and 20-year activity, by determining their positions on the market, " he said.

He said that all this will allow banks to conduct a more balanced activity in 2011.

"This year will be more stable and more profitable for local banks," he said.

CBA plans to implement the preservation of capital adequacy, maintaining the optimal level of liquidity and restructuring to ensure financial stability in the banking sector in 2011.

The measures on regulating and supervising will be directed to ensure the optimal balance between stability and growth in 2011.

It is important for the banking sector to be based on stable and sustainable sources of growth in the post-crisis period. This is a necessary condition for using financial resources for a strong and long-term economic development, as well as to increase the role of long-term storage of sources in the resource base of banks, including the capital market.

According to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, as of Dec. 1, 2010, the total assets of banks in the country amounted to 12.697 billion manat, or 8.8 percent more than early 2011.

The capitalization of the Azerbaijani banking sector increased by 1.1 percent in Nov. 2010, compared to 8.5 percent, or up to 2,175.07 million manat, in early 2011.

Total profit in the banking sector declined by almost 53.4 percent compared to Nov. 2009 and increased by 17.6 percent compared to the previous month to 109.05 million manat.

The official exchange rate is 0.7977 manat to $1.