Central Bank of Azerbaijan

Remittances rose 40%: why Azerbaijan’s exposure to Russia increased

Russia contributed roughly two-thirds of the first-half increase in remittances. What greater concentration means for recipients and domestic demand.

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More card payments, smaller tickets: what Azerbaijan’s data show

POS payment count rose 56.3%, while value increased 12.3%. Why neither figure alone measures growth in real consumption.

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A 20% versus 34% loan rate adds AZN 852 over two years

A FinFly calculation for a two-year AZN 5,000 loan shows the effect of different interest rates on monthly payments and total interest.

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Unsecured loans account for 55.3% of Azerbaijan microbusiness lending

The unsecured share is 11.8% for medium-sized businesses. The gap describes loan portfolio composition, rather than applicants’ approval chances.

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Economy · November 8, 2026

Azerbaijan non-bank lenders: quarterly profit falls 18.5% despite strong annual growth

Non-bank lenders earned AZN 32.2 million in the third quarter. Operating profit was broadly stable, while provisioning charges and income tax increased.

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Azerbaijan currency rates — November 8, 2026

Official CBAR exchange rates to the manat: US dollar, euro, ruble, lira, pound and lari on November 8, 2026.

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Economy · November 8, 2026

Claims outpace premiums: Azerbaijan’s insurers compared

Life-insurer payments reached 92.4% of premiums. A comparison of 15 companies, with life and non-life shown separately.

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Economy · November 7, 2026

Azerbaijan currency rates — November 7, 2026

Official CBAR exchange rates to the manat: US dollar, euro, ruble, lira, pound and lari on November 7, 2026.

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Economy · November 6, 2026

Azerbaijan currency rates — November 6, 2026

Official CBAR exchange rates to the manat: US dollar, euro, ruble, lira, pound and lari on November 6, 2026.

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Economy · November 5, 2026

PAŞA Həyat leads Azerbaijan insurers with AZN 568.351 million in nine-month premiums

PAŞA Sığorta ranks second with AZN 308.931 million in premiums, followed by Atəşgah Həyat with AZN 83.579 million.

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Crypto · November 5, 2026

Azerbaijan central bank and Binance discuss crypto regulation and tokenization

The talks covered testing crypto products in a special regulatory regime and opportunities to tokenize real-world assets.

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Economy · November 5, 2026

Azerbaijan currency rates — November 5, 2026

Official CBAR exchange rates to the manat: US dollar, euro, ruble, lira, pound and lari on November 5, 2026.

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Azerbaijan Banks Association expects annual sector growth of 11% to 12%

The association’s forecast covers 2026 and 2027. Its president said business lending was expanding faster than consumer credit.

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Azerbaijan’s 2027 budget assumes 5.3% average inflation and $65 oil

The draft also uses an exchange rate of AZN 1.70 per US dollar. The oil price is a budget assumption, not a target.

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Azerbaijan’s central bank sees 2.3% growth in 2027; ministry expects 2.7%

Both institutions expect growth to accelerate next year, but their estimates for total GDP differ by 0.4 percentage points.

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Economy · November 3, 2026

Azerbaijan currency rates — November 4, 2026

Official CBAR exchange rates to the manat: US dollar, euro, ruble, lira, pound and lari on November 4, 2026.

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IT · November 3, 2026

Azerbaijan central bank orders Portmanat operator to remedy breaches

Mobile Payment Solutions received binding instructions following an on-site inspection.

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Azerbaijan central bank reserves reach $15.43 billion

Reserves rose 34% over ten months and added $67 million in October.

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Economy · November 3, 2026

Azerbaijan currency rates — November 3, 2026

Official CBAR exchange rates to the manat: US dollar, euro, ruble, lira, pound and lari on November 3, 2026.

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IT · November 2, 2026

Caucasus forum discusses cross-border financial technology testing

A CBA representative joined talks on cross-border payments and regulatory experimentation in Tbilisi. No common testing regime has been launched.

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Economy · November 2, 2026

Azerbaijan currency rates — November 2, 2026

Official CBAR exchange rates to the manat: US dollar, euro, ruble, lira, pound and lari on November 2, 2026.

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Economy · November 1, 2026

Azerbaijan currency rates — November 1, 2026

Official CBAR exchange rates to the manat: US dollar, euro, ruble, lira, pound and lari on November 1, 2026.

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Azerbaijan’s CASCO payouts rise 27.3% as premiums remain almost flat

Nine-month payouts reached AZN 29.6 million. Their ratio to premiums rose from 43.1% to 54.6%, but this is not an actuarial loss ratio.

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Azerbaijan’s endowment insurance payouts exceed premiums by AZN 29.6m

Nine-month payouts rose 35.1%, while premiums increased 12.5%. A ratio above 100% calls for contract-maturity analysis, not an automatic loss verdict.

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Azerbaijan currency rates — October 31, 2026

Official CBAR exchange rates to the manat: US dollar, euro, ruble, lira, pound and lari on October 31, 2026.

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Azerbaijani banks’ September profit falls 3.1% as provisioning rises

Operating profit increased, but provision charges more than doubled. Nine-month net profit still exceeded the previous year’s level by 18.8%.

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CBA uses securities lending to generate additional income

The governor cited an additional spread of 0.3-0.5%. It concerns a specific transaction mechanism, not the total return on reserves.

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CBA forecasts faster GDP growth in 2027 alongside a lower average oil price

The non-oil-and-gas economy is projected to accelerate to 4.3%. Next year’s oil-price assumption is $10 a barrel lower.

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Banks account for 94-95% of the financial sector as CBA prepares its 2030 strategy

The new strategy is intended to support insurance, capital markets and fintech. Preparation of the document is nearing completion.

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CBA links bank consolidation prospects to digitalisation costs

The regulator supports transactions that create stronger institutions. No specific new consolidation plans have been announced.

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CBA supports a larger role for foreign financial firms

The regulator expects stronger competition, skills development and technology adoption across banking, insurance and capital markets.

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CBA hopes to secure pawnshop regulation in 2027

The initiative focuses on consumer protection. Detailed rules have yet to be approved.

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40% growth in transactions to trigger a new risk review of financial institutions

Azerbaijan’s parliament approved CBA supervision amendments in a third reading. Ownership, business and customer-base changes would also trigger a new assessment.

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Banks have AZN 4.6 billion available for lending, CBA says

The regulator describes requirements for SME, agricultural and exporter finance as relatively accommodating. Available funds are only one condition for lending.

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Consumer-loan arrears rise as CBA describes risks as non-systemic

The CBA governor points to provisioning and borrower assessment. Arrears ratios and their direction matter for evaluating portfolio quality.

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CBA to continue tightening rules for short-term small loans

The regulator links its measures to household indebtedness and total borrowing costs. It does not plan to remove the product from the market.

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Azerbaijan currency rates — October 30, 2026

Official CBAR exchange rates to the manat: US dollar, euro, ruble, lira, pound and lari on October 30, 2026.

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IT · October 30, 2026

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan discuss shared fintech sandbox access

Cooperation between regulators could expand opportunities to test financial products across two markets.

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CBA prioritises direct settlements and interoperable payment systems

Instant-payment integration and recognition of QR standards are intended to expand cross-border payment options.

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CBA discusses lower Visa and Mastercard fees and wider QR payments

The regulator expects progress in talks before year-end. For merchants, the central question is the total cost of accepting payments.

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Card-to-card transfers: CBA explains banks’ limits and exceptions

Banks can consider individual circumstances. Salary and pension payments fall outside these restrictions, according to the CBA governor.

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Positive net remittance balance rises 70% to $830.5 million

The positive remittance balance reached $830.5 million in January-September. The measure captures the excess of inward over outward transfers and supports the country’s external balance.

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CBA projects current-account surplus of $5.4 billion in 2027

The projected 2027 current-account surplus is $3.1 billion below the 2026 estimate. The CBA nevertheless revised both annual forecasts upwards.

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Bank liquidity surplus reaches AZN 6.2 billion: implications for lending rates

Banks’ structural liquidity surplus rose to 2.2 times its December level. Lower interbank rates reflect changing money-market conditions, while loan pricing also depends on borrower risk and funding maturity.

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Foreign-currency share of resident household deposits falls to 25.7%

The foreign-currency share of resident individuals’ deposits declined 3.3 percentage points over a year, increasing the relative weight of manat savings in this group’s deposit base.

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CBA reserves reach $15.4 billion amid excess foreign-currency supply

The central bank’s foreign-currency reserves increased 33.4% over nine months. The regulator purchased currency as market supply exceeded demand.

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Food-group price growth exceeds headline inflation by 1.4 percentage points

The food group rose 6.9% year on year in September, against headline inflation of 5.5%. The impact on household expenditure varies with the composition of consumption.

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CBA forecasts 5.9% inflation in 2026 and 2027

The regulator lowered its inflation forecast for 2026 and raised its 2027 projection. The baseline assumes unchanged government-regulated prices and tariffs.

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CBA holds rate at 6.5%: implications for lending and deposits

The CBA has maintained its interest-rate corridor. Bank lending conditions and deposit returns will depend on funding costs, liquidity and risk assessments.

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Azerbaijan currency rates — October 29, 2026

Official CBAR exchange rates to the manat: US dollar, euro, ruble, lira, pound and lari on October 29, 2026.

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CBA sets 10:00 Baku time for 29 October rate decision

The interest-rate corridor announcement will be followed by a press conference at 11:00.

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After the Fed hold: what matters for Azerbaijan before the CBA decision

The US range remains 3.75–4%. Dollar funding, asset returns and domestic inflation are the relevant channels for Azerbaijan.

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Non-bank lenders grew profit as provisions outpaced loan growth

Non-bank credit organisations’ gross loan book reached AZN 1.38 billion and nine-month net profit AZN 153.4 million. Accumulated provisions rose 65% from end-2025.

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Inward money transfers grew in value with almost unchanged volume

Inward transfers through money-transfer systems reached AZN 148.1 million in September. Transaction count was almost unchanged while average value rose to AZN 670.

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Mobile banking processed fewer transactions but more money

Mobile banking transaction volume fell about 14% in September while value rose 4.6%. The average transaction exceeded AZN 100.

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Card numbers rose by 414,000 while turnover per card fell

Bank cards in circulation reached 23.39 million. September brought slightly more transactions per card but less monetary turnover per card.

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Online card turnover is 6.4 times POS value: what average payments reveal

The average e-commerce transaction was about AZN 56 in September, against AZN 11.6 through POS. Payment size explains much of the difference in turnover.

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Cashless transactions approached 70% of domestic card turnover

Domestic cashless card transactions reached about AZN 8.98 billion in September, against AZN 3.94 billion in cash withdrawals. Cashless value was more than twice as large.

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Banks bought almost twice as many cash dollars as they sold

Banks bought $182.2 million in cash and sold $98.7 million in September. Purchases still exceeded sales, even as customer demand for dollars increased from August.

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