BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16
By Zeyni Jafarov – Trend:
The dynamics of the use of credit operations by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Mugan Bank has decreased since early 2020, the bank told Trend.
However, this factor did not prevent the bank's loan portfolio from growing, Mugan Bank said.
“To get out of this situation, the bank introduced some innovations for clients. One of these innovations was the KOB Kart - SME lending program, which offered loans to entrepreneurs up to 30,000 manat ($17,647) with a 22-percent rate. Moreover, after 12 months, the existing debt is repaid on an annuity basis within 18 months,” the bank said.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, serious difficulties arose in the activities of SMEs both throughout the world and in Azerbaijan. In this regard, the Muganbank Finance Hub was established, which has become a unified ecosystem to support SME entrepreneurs. This financial cluster allows SME entrepreneurs to use free services, as well as receive financial support from the bank to meet accounting costs. When connecting to the Mugan Hub platform for the first time, clients are offered free tax and accounting services for different periods, depending on the type of clients,” said the bank.
Despite the impact of COVID-19 on the banking sector, the bank is still increasing its loan portfolio and over the past three quarters of 2020, its share in total assets amounted to more than 60 percent or 334 million manat ($196.4 million).