AccessBank`s rep: People look only at interest rate

12:42 - 18.05.2020


May 18, Fineko/abc.az. Since last year the banking sector of Azerbaijan has observed a problem of insufficient business lending.

Some banks link that with their own strategy and other ones with volume of risks they are ready to undertake. In particular, the latter is our own case – we’d liked to give more loans last year, but we did not see such a large number of creditworthy businesses.

ABC.AZ reports that the above-mentioned statement was made by AccessBank’s first deputy chairman of board Yevgeniya Gashikulina.

She noted that this problem may worsen because of a decline in business activity.

"However, the steps the government is taking are likely to help overcome the current situation," she emphasized.

According to Gashikulina, the government's support program for subsidizing and partially guaranteeing loans fulfills part of the tasks, since it is essentially a risk-sharing program.

"We’d like all non-oil sectors to be beneficiaries of this program, including trade and certain services. Of course, we should note the positive impact of a number of measures taken by the country's leadership to reduce the negative impact on the economy of the coronavirus pandemic.

Programs were developed in due time and implemented quickly to support businesses that suffered the greatest losses from the current situation. In addition to business lending, another issue of the banking system is the revision of the long-term approach to deposit guarantee by the Azerbaijan Deposit Insurance Fund (ADIF). This is a great tool that gives stability to the banking sector. But it is also a tool that reduces the motivation of customers to make the right choice between banks. People only look at the interest rate. Other parameters that previously played a determining role in choosing a bank – bank transparency, business model, shareholder structure, comfortable service, etc – do not play a big role for the client. The decline in business activity affects all sectors of the economy. This slowdown affected both businesses and the banking sector. However, any difficult situation can be overcome by joint efforts. I’m sure the dialogue and coordinated work of all involved parties – entrepreneurs, bankers, business associations and government agencies - will help overcome the current situation and get out of it with honor," Gashikulina underlined.

 

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