BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 24. The governor of
the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, Taleh Kazimov, met with
representatives of the Azerbaijan Fashion Retailers Association
(AFRA) and discussed the availability of financial services and the
development of cashless payments, Trend reports via CBA.


Meanwhile, it is noted that the meeting discussed issues
included in the association's agenda concerning financial services,
banking operations, and payment mechanisms.


“The meeting also provided information on the initiatives being
implemented by the Central Bank aimed at improving the
accessibility of financial services for businesses and increasing
the efficiency of non-cash payment services,” the information
said.


As of January 1 of this year, business loans accounted for 53.6%
(16.1 billion manat ($9.4 billion)) of the loan portfolio of
Azerbaijani banks.


This is 301.5 million manat ($177.3 million) or 1.9% more than
the previous month and 1.3 billion manat ($760 million) or 8.9%
more than the same period last year.







Over the reporting period, the volume of loans issued to large
businesses amounted to 8.5 billion manat ($5 billion), which is
78.3 million manat ($46.05 million) or 2.2% more than the previous
month and 252.9 million manat ($148.7 million) or 3% more than the
same period last year.


In addition, as of January 1 of this year, microenterprises were
granted business loans totaling 3.5 billion manat ($2.06 billion).
This is 40.3 million manat ($23.7 million), or 1.1%, more than the
previous month and 452.8 million manat ($266.3 million), or 14.6%,
more than the same period last year.


As of January 1 of this year, medium-sized enterprises were
granted 2.2 billion manat ($1.2 billion) in loans. This is 9.8
million manat ($5.7 million) or 0.4% more than the previous month
and 455 million manat ($267.6 million) or 24.8% more than the same
period last year.


In addition, as of January 1, 2026, the volume of business loans
issued to small businesses amounted to 1.7 billion manat ($1
billion), which means an increase of 64.9 million manat ($38.1
million), or 3.9% in monthly terms, and 158.3 million manat ($93.1
million), or 10.2% in annual terms.