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Tuesday, March 26, 2024

International Bank of Azerbaijan named "Bank of the Year"

British magazine "The Banker" recently named the International Bank of Azerbaijan "The Bank of the Year," underlining its successful recapitalization and introduction of Islam banking as among its advantages.

The International Bank of Azerbaijan is a major state-owned bank that holds at least 40 percent of all bank assets in the country, Azernews reports.

The award was given to Rufat Imamverdiyev, the head of IBA's representative office in London, at a Nov. 28 ceremony.

The IBA was established in 1990s as a successor of the Azerbaijani branch of Vnesheconombank. IBA holds a leading position in the domestic banking sector. Its main shareholder is the government, which holds a 50.2 percent stake. The rest of the bank is owned by private individuals and legal entities, according to Azernews.

The Banker noted IBA's growth of capital, which exceeded the growth of its assets allowing it to improv its capital ratio and create the basement for an increase of crediting.

"It became one of the important competitive advantages of the IBA and significantly improved its financial stability. It allowed the Bank to increase the number of its active transactions, implement strategic initiatives in all directions of its activity including introduction of the up-to-date system of client interaction management," the magazine said, Azernews reports.

IBA's authorized capital is currently $470 million.