Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 27
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
Azerbaijani banks don’t exceed the four-percent currency corridor set by the country’s central bank when implementing currency exchange, Azerbaijan’s Financial Market Supervisory Body told Trend.
“A four-percent currency corridor set by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan is considered as a basis when implementing foreign currency exchange transactions,” the financial regulator said. “The supervisory body controls that the banks not exceed this exchange rate corridor. Currently, none of the banks violates the requirements for the exchange rate. If we face these facts, we have mechanisms to prevent them.”
The Central Bank of Azerbaijan limited the currency exchange rate corridor within four percent of the official rate [-4 percent on purchase, +4 percent on sale] in an instruction sent to the banks. These measures were taken to stop speculations with currency in the country.
The supervisory body also touched upon the issue regarding the banks’ raising commission fee for cashing out of foreign currency when using manat cards.
“Commission fees are regulated by a contract between a bank and a client,” Azerbaijan’s Financial Market Supervisory Body said. “In accordance with the law ‘On Banks’, each bank is free to determine conditions of rendering services to clients, including interest rates, fees and other payments for banking services, as well as conditions and order of payments on loans.”
The supervisory body added that the number of cashing out transactions of foreign currency when using manat cards has recently increased.
Thirty-three banks operate in Azerbaijan, including two state-owned ones.