S&P predicts 15% growth in lending in Azerbaijan in 2025

International rating agency S&P Global expects lending in Azerbaijan to grow by 15% in 2025 after an average annual increase of 18% in 2021-2024, Report informs via S&P.

The main growth factor is the active expansion of consumer lending.

The agency notes that historically, lending dynamics in Azerbaijan have closely correlated with oil prices. Despite high growth rates, private sector debt levels remain the lowest among comparable countries.

According to S&P's assessment, the ratio of household debt to GDP is 14%, while corporate debt is 10%.

From March 1, 2025, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan will introduce an additional countercyclical capital buffer of 0.5%. This decision is due to the fact that the credit gap indicator (deviation of the credit-to-GDP ratio from the long-term trend) exceeds 2%.

The volume of credit investments in Azerbaijan's economy as of January 1, 2025, amounted to 29.288 billion manats ($17.228 billion), increasing by 0.8% compared to the beginning of December last year and by 22.1% compared to the beginning of 2024.