Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.25
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
In January-November 2014, the volume of money transfers between Azerbaijan and Russia through the IBA-Express payments system of the Moscow branch of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) amounted to $22.1 million, IBA-Moscow told Trend Dec.25.
It is reported that the number of transfers during this period amounted to 17,000 units.
Cash transfers worth $801.1 million (529,000 transfers) were made between the two countries through the IBA-Express since the beginning of the activity of the Moscow branch of the bank. Some $55 million (37,000 transfers) in 2013, $71 million (48,000 transfers) in 2012, $74 million (58,000 transfers) in 2011, $81 million (67,000 transfers) in 2010, $70 million (55,000 transfers) in 2009, $113 million (61,000 transfers) in 2008, $99 million (53,000 transfers) in 2007, $84 million (45,000 transfers) in 2006, $59 million (38,000 transfers) in 2005, $47 million (30,000 transfers) in 2004, $21 million (17,000 transfers) in 2003, $5 million (3,000 transfers) in 2002.
The decrease in cash transfers between the two countries in 2014 was due to the economic situation in Russia.
The CEO of IBA Elmar Habibulayev previously said that in the near future, the bank does not expect serious problems at its subsidiary IBA-Moscow in Russia due to the sharp depreciation of the ruble.
Habibulayev said that the change in the ruble exchange rate can affect the value of assets, but any direct effect on the subsidiary shouldn't be expected. He went on to add that for today, any changes in the volume of cash transfers from Azerbaijan to Russia and back are also not expected.
"This is possible after a certain time, when the crisis will have a real impact on the economy of Russia, when problems at the workplace will arise, but until now, the crisis affects only the exchange rate," he said. "In this case, IBA-Moscow may resort to preventive measures."
IBA-Moscow was founded in 2002. It is a subsidiary of International Bank of Azerbaijan - the largest bank in the country and the South Caucasus region.
Today, the IBA-Moscow Bank is a universal bank and is one of the TOP150 largest Russian financial institutions. As of October 1, 2014, the assets of the IBA-Moscow amounted to 40.8 billion rubles.At present, the bank's has its offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. In August 2014, Moody's Interfax Rating Agency assigned a rating on a national scale at the level of Baa2 to the IBA-Moscow Bank. In turn, Moody's Investors Service changed the outlook on the bank's rating on the international scale from B3 "Stable" to B3 "positive".
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