Azernews.Az

The allocation of mortgage loans will resume in Azerbaijan in 2009, the country`s central banker said.
The disbursal of such credits, which seek to help solve the housing problem of citizens, had been started in 2006 but was halted by the government in 2007.
Elman Rustamov, board chairman of the National Bank of Azerbaijan (NBA), said the existing mortgage system has, so far, been funded from the state budget, however, a transition to self-financing is now envisioned on orders from the president. "Substantial work is underway on new proposals," he said.
Rustamov said state financing of mortgage loans represented a source of inflation. The government, therefore, decided to alter the mechanism.
He emphasized that the experience of numerous countries, such as Denmark and Mexico, has been studied to apply the new model in Azerbaijan.
"The model we will apply, along with its being flexible, will be called the model of deriving money from the market. The primary task we are facing now is to swiftly coordinate the model of mortgage allocations," Rustamov said, adding that talks were underway within the government for this purpose.
Additionally, he said a certain amount of funds would be designated from the state budget next year for the allocation of set-aside mortgage loans. "This will allow the most needy part of the population to use social mortgages."
Social mortgages, worth up to 35,000 manats ($43,000), were allotted for three to 30 years, with 4% interest rate.