Azernews.Az

PASHA Bank has published the results of its financial performance in 2009, posting growth on key figures, and outlined further steps directed at reinforcing its standing as a large and strong corporate bank in Azerbaijan, the bank’s executives said Wednesday.
PASHA Bank retained its position as one of large commercial banks with shareholder equity exceeding 126.5 million manats ($158.1 million). The total assets of PASHA Bank reached 306.433 million manats by the end of 2009, an increase of 55% in comparison with 2008.
The bank’s credit portfolio more than doubled to 122.080 million manats compared to 46.225 million manats reported in 2008.
The 2009 net profit of the bank increased 49% in comparison to 2008 to hit 16.059 million manats, which enabled to boost the bank’s capitalization. At the year-end, PASHA Bank was one of the top five most profitable banks in Azerbaijan.
The interest income of the bank amounted to over 24.3 million manats, while non-interest income grew 2.3-fold to 2.639 million manats. The trade finance portfolio increased almost 2.6-fold over the year - from 10m manats in 2008 to 25.614m manats in 2009.
In general, the year 2009 was a milestone for PASHA Bank marking the completion of the first strategic development phase aimed at reinforcing the bank’s positions as a corporate institution that provides a broad range of services to its corporate customers involved in international business. During the past year, PASHA Bank gained a foothold in the market as a strong partner for companies with transparent and sustainable management irrespective of their size, the bank said.
PASHA Bank intends to provide new modern products and services in the Azerbaijani market, including those within the project and trade finance-related cooperation with international financial institutions and foreign banks. By the end of 2010, the bank is planning to double its trade finance portfolio to 60m manats, which will create new opportunities for existing and potential customers from the SME sector.
PASHA Bank’s credit portfolio is expected to grow up to 40-45% of the total amount of assets by the end of 2010.
PASHA Bank’s development strategy envisages opening branches in the main regions of Azerbaijan like Ganja-Gazakh, Zagatala, Guba-Khachmaz and Masally-Lankaran.