Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
Azerbaijan’s Baku Collection Agency plans to take over the management of problem loans of two more major banks by the end of the year, Samir Mustafayev, director of the agency, told Trend.
“After the summer, we plan to sign agreements with two more major banks of Azerbaijan,” he said. “The negotiations with them continue. We worked with one of them in the past, but after the change of leadership the cooperation was suspended. Now we will resume it.”
He noted that the agency continues to build up its portfolio.
“Presently, we work with seven banks of Azerbaijan, as well as a number of major retail chains and other smaller clients,” he said. “In general, compared to the first half of last year, our portfolio grew by about 20 percent in the same period this year. The growth was mainly achieved in the first five months of this year, because no activity is observed in the banking market in summer.”
Earlier, Mustafayev told Trend that the agency plans to increase its portfolio by 30 percent in 2018. In general, the agency this year plans to take over the management of portfolios of a number of banks and major construction companies, he said.
The problem loans of Azerbaijan’s credit organizations amounted to 1.75 billion manats in the first half of 2018, or 14.4 percent of the total volume of the issued loans, according to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan.
Compared to the same period last year, the volume of problem loans decreased by 3.6 percent, while their share in the total loan portfolio slightly increased.
(1.7 manats = 1 USD on Aug. 25
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