Azernews.Az

As of June 1, 2014, banks in Azerbaijan reduced their loan's interest rates in local and foreign currencies, a statistical report released by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan said.

The average rate on bank lending to the Azerbaijani economy in national currency amounted to 14.05 percent for the reported period compared to 14.19 percent as of June 1, 2013, the report said.

The average rate of banks' lending rate in freely convertible currency was 14.39 percent compared to 14.61 percent last year.

As of June 1, 2014, the average rate of bank lending to legal entities in national currency amounted to 10.71 percent compared to 11.65 percent in June 2013.

Meanwhile, the average rate of bank lending to corporate clients in freely convertible currencies amounted to 9.93 percent compared to 11.03 percent last year.

The report noted that on June 1, 2014, the average rate of bank lending to individuals in national currency amounted to 18.08 percent compared to 17.89 percent last year.

The average rate of bank loans' interest to individual customers in freely convertible currency was 21.37 percent compared to 21.44 percent at the beginning of June, 2013.

Inflation in Azerbaijan made up 1.7 percent in January-May 2014 compared to the same period last year.

Currently, there are 44 banks operating in Azerbaijan.