The average lending rate is 12.66% in Baku and above 20% in Mountainous Shirvan. The gap reflects portfolio composition as well as geography.
Lending is concentrated in the capital
The CBA regional table 2.10 at 30 September assigns AZN 25.76 billion of the national AZN 33.68 billion loan portfolio to Baku. The capital’s share is about 76.5%. Absheron-Khizi, the next largest economic region by lending, has AZN 1.29 billion.
This concentration shows where lending is recorded. It does not establish that every financed project is physically located in Baku: the place of credit registration and the place of economic activity can differ.
Where average rates are highest
Mountainous Shirvan has the highest regional average at 20.57%, followed by Central Aran at 20.28% and Gazakh-Tovuz at 20.04%. Baku averages 12.66%, against 14.06% nationally.
These figures combine currencies and products. Baku has a substantial foreign-currency portfolio carrying a lower average rate. Its headline average therefore cannot be treated as the price of an identical loan in different cities.
| Economic region | Loans, AZN million | Average rate |
|---|---|---|
| Baku | 25,763.74 | 12.66% |
| Absheron-Khizi | 1,289.74 | 16.95% |
| Ganja-Dashkasan | 996.98 | 18.24% |
| Mountainous Shirvan | 231.22 | 20.57% |
| Central Aran | 654.88 | 20.28% |
| Gazakh-Tovuz | 632.80 | 20.04% |
The regional financing question
Businesses outside the capital need suitable maturities, collateral terms and sufficiently large facilities as well as competitive interest rates. A high average does not by itself establish that banks avoid a region, but points to a different lending mix.
A like-for-like comparison would require matching products, currencies and borrower characteristics. Regional statistics map concentration and pricing; they do not rank individual banks or personal offers.
