Azernews.Az

The International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), the country's leading bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday signed an agreement on the allocation of a $20 million loan.
The annual interest rate was set at LIBOR+3.85% in the first five years and at LIBOR+5.35% in the ensuing three years, according to the loan covenant.
The IBA deputy board chairman Vagif Akbarov regarded the transaction as an indicator of high confidence in his bank and the country's entire banking sector.
"The importance of today's event is that it will give an incentive to future cooperation with the ADB, as our plans include expansion of long-term international cooperation in the context of integration into the global [banking] system," Akbarov told the signing ceremony.
ADB's Principal Investment Officer William Willms emphasized that his division was carrying out such a transaction with a state-run bank for the first time, as it had been working only with the private sector so far.
"After lengthy discussions we agreed to proceed with the transaction, and this will be the first step in our cooperation. IBA is a leading institution not only in Azerbaijan and the Caucasus region but also in Central Asia. We are therefore ready to support its development in the future," the bank executive said.
He stressed that the loan covenant will be the biggest transaction in Azerbaijan's banking system, as similar deals to be inked in the future are unlikely to reach this amount of lending given the current volume of capital in other local banks.
The charter fund of the International Bank of Azerbaijan is about $100 million, while its capitalization exceeds $300 million. The bank's assets amount to over $3 billion.