CBA: Depth of banking sector to cover 100% of GDP over 10 years

Azerbaijan expects to increase the depth of the banking sector up to 100 percent of GDP for the next ten years, Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijani Central Bank (CBA) Elman Rustamov said during a conference on "Heydar Aliyev and financial and credit system: Achievements and Challenges", dedicated to the 90th anniversary of national leader Heydar Aliyev on Friday.

"At present, the depth of the banking sector is at 64 percent of GDP," he said. "It has doubled for the last 10 years. We expect its growth up to 100 percent of GDP for the next 10 years. It is necessary to continue the consolidation of the banking sector. The requirements for the banks' capital were increased by five times. Today, around 80 percent of the sector's assets fall to the banks. These banks meet the new requirements on capitalization."

He said that the banking sector has increased by 10 times for the last 10 years.

"Today, the level of capital adequacy of the banking sector is 17 percent," he said. "Around 15 percent of the liabilities fall to the external liabilities. At present, the establishment of private credit bureaus is being considered. One of the goals is to expand mortgage lending."

He also stressed that Azerbaijan is in the world top twenty countries in terms of financial and macroeconomic stability.

"Azerbaijani economy has been increased by 3.4 times for the last 10 years," he said. "The average growth rate during this period exceeded the world average indices by 3.5 times and amounted to 14 percent a year. The poverty level reduced by 10 times. The strategic currency reserves increased up to $ 48 billion. This exceeds the external debt by 8 times."


/Trend/