BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 21. The total profit of Azerbaijani banks amounted to 914 million manat ($537 million) in 2022, which is 50 percent or 305 million manat ($179 million) more than the year before, Trend reports via the Central Bank of Azerbaijan's (CBA) report on financial stability.
According to the CBA, 24 out of 25 banks made a profit.
"The growth rate of bank profits in 2022 exceeded the growth rate of assets, which in turn led to an increase in the return on assets (RoA) in the banking sector by 0.4 percentage points, up to 2.2 percent. At the same time, the return on equity (RoE) increased by 3.9 percentage points in 2022 to 18.9 percent," the statement said.
According to the CBA, the growth in the net profit of banks was primarily affected by an increase in interest income. In particular, in 2022, the net interest income of banks increased by 32.7 percent, or 503 million manat ($295 million), to 2.04 billion manat ($1.2 billion). The interest income of banks in the reporting period was formed at the expense of consumer credit and business loans.
Non-interest income of the banking sector increased by 340 million manat ($200 million), or 38.81 percent compared to the rate from January through December 2021, to 1.21 billion manat ($710 million). Non-interest expenses of banks increased by 414.5 million manat or $243.8 million (28.18 percent), to 1.88 billion manat ($1.1 billion). The operating profit of Azerbaijani banks reached 1.37 billion manat or $805 million (an increase of 45.46 percent over the year), while the banking sector's profit before taxes reached 1.17 billion manat ($688.2 million), and income tax payments amounted to 261.5 million manat ($153 million).