Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani banks are completing the process of repaying the credit lines received from the Asian Development Bank, ADB Resident Representative Olly Norojono told media.

"ADB provided four Azerbaijani banks with financing," he said. "Three of them have completed making payments on credit lines. The International Bank of Azerbaijan [the country’s leading bank] is among them."

AccessBank and Bank Respublika have also repaid the loans, while Bank of Baku is wrapping up the process of repaying the credit lines. It is now expected to make a final payment, the ADB official said.

ADB launched the active financing to support Azerbaijan’s private sector development in 2007 by approving three loans totaling $56 million for a number of local leading banks. A loan worth $6 million was allocated to Bank of Baku to improve access to financing of small and medium enterprises; $10 million was provided to Bank Respublika, and a subordinated loan worth $40 million was rendered to the International Bank of Azerbaijan.

In April 2010, ADB signed the contracts under the expansion of trade financing with five Azerbaijani banks - Access Bank, AGBank, Bank of Baku, DemirBank and Bank Respublika.

"The bank will continue its cooperation with Azerbaijani banks through trade financing," Norojono said. "We expect to achieve new success in this area in February this year."