Details added (first version posted on 13:57)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 10
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) did not prohibit banks to issue credits in manats, said the message of the CBA Apr.10.
The Central Bank has denied the information spread by some media outlets about the ban on lending in manats.
"By the law, banks operating in the country are free to choose in which currency to lend," said the message.
Currently, the country's banks continue to issue credits both in national and foreign currencies, according to the message of the Central Bank.
As is known, after adjusting the rate of manat with respect to the US dollar [February 21], some banks have restricted lending in national currency, and some of them stopped it completely.
Some 45 banks operate in Azerbaijan, two of which are state-owned.
As of Feb.1, 2015, the banks issued loans totaling around 18.579,8 billion manats (AZN), including around 13.561,4 billion manats (73 percent) in national currency and 5.018,4 billion manats (27 percent) in freely convertible currency, according to the CBA.
The official exchange rate for April 10 is 1, 0520 AZN/USD.
Credits issued to the population in the districts of Azerbaijan amounted to 3.156.3 billion manats, or 16.99 percent of the total loan portfolio of banks, which is 42.6 percent higher than in 2014.
In Baku, the figure was 15.423.4 billion manats, where 11.060.4 billion manats fell on the loans in national currency. The average interest rate on loans in the country in the first month of 2015 was 13.8 percent, in Baku - 12.3 percent.
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