Central Bank of Azerbaijan intensifies combating excessive debt

To combat the excessive debt in the financial sector, Azerbaijan needs to connect all non-bank credit organizations (NBCOs) to the Central Credit Registry, the executive director of the Microfinance Organizations Association Jale Hajiyeva said Tuesday at a fair of investors on the theme "Fight against excessive debt in Azerbaijan".

"The main purpose of the fair is to establish a dialogue between microfinance organizations and investors to protect the rights and interests of investors," said Hajiyeva.

According to Hajiyeva, NBCOs have started to provide data to the Central Credit Registry under Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA).

The CBA Director General Rashad Orujov said that created in 2010, the legal framework in this regard gave an impetus to the development of this market segment. Since the beginning of the year, the country has registered six new NBCOs, and there is a process of increasing their capital.

Today, the share of microfinance organizations account for about 20 percent of the portfolio of credit organizations in the country. Introduction of modern corporate governance is also important for the development of this sector.

"Today, only seven NBCOs have joined the Central Credit Registry, of which client base covers 60 percent of the microfinance market in the country," said Orujov.

According to the U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza, the CBA excellently manages the implementation of various reforms in the country despite that still it needs to do much work.

The U.S. stands ready to support the Microfinance Organizations Association and Central Bank in implementing these reforms, Bryza said.


/Trend/