11:59 - 22.06.2021

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June 22, Fineko/abc.az. Currently, due to the pandemic, foreign banks do not enter the markets anywhere.

ABC.AZ reports that expert Ekrem Hasanov made such a statement when commenting on the possibility of foreign banks' penetration into the banking system of Azerbaijan.

He noted that currently no foreign bank in Azerbaijan opens branches, representative offices, especially subsidiaries.

"But in principle, even before the pandemic, no foreign bank came to Azerbaijan. No foreign bank has come to Azerbaijan since 2010, as since then the banking system of Azerbaijan has been in crisis. There is no previous profitability in the Azerbaijani economy. Banks used to give loans and earn a lot of money. There are no such cases now. For this reason, the Azerbaijani market is not so attractive for foreign banks. And in an attractive period they were simply not allowed to the market, as it was thought they could outperform local banks. The competitive environment in Azerbaijan is not sound, so the country has been failing to adopt the Competition Code for more than 15 years. I can't believe in the near future some foreign bank will enter the banking system of Azerbaijan," the expert emphasized.