The International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) reported on Thursday that the bank's Islamic banking loans have increased 1.5 times from early 2014.

The IBA's Islamic Banking Department has been involved in handling $218.7 million in Islamic banking loans during the past two years.

The increase can be attributed to the population growth of the Islamic community throughout the country, which grew to 10 times its previous size, according to the IBA.

The bank offers such banking services to the Islamic community as ijara, which is similar to traditional deposits; Islamic banking cards; and Qard Hassan loans, in which the borrower only pays the amount borrowed without interest.