The level of dollarization of the loan portfolio of Azerbaijani banks is 20%, said Fuad Isayev, Director of the Credit Institutions Supervision Department of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA), in his speech at the II Agrobusiness Forum held in Baku, Report informs.
“But for the business portfolio, this indicator is about 40-45% which is high. This may cause business subjects which do not have income in foreign currency to face serious problems in their payments due to possible exchange rate accounting,” Isayev said.
According to him, in 2022, the regulatory framework was revised by the Central Bank, and the risk category for the borrower was increased from 120% to 200% along with the tightening of consumer lending: “In this regard, credit organizations, especially banks, should have more capital base for lending to customers in foreign currency.”
Isayev said that 89% of loans in Azerbaijan are currently given in national currency: “Approximately 10-11% of the loan portfolio in foreign currency amounting to approximately $90 million is on the unplaced customer base.”