Finance

Finance

New financial market infrastructure improvement project launched in Azerbaijan

15 December 2009 16:21 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev â€“ APA-Economics. Partnered with the Swiss Government, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has held a presentation of a three-year project to strengthen financial market infrastructure and improve access to finance for small and medium enterprises in Azerbaijan.
IFC will work with the government and financial institutions to establish and strengthen credit information sharing and introduce formal education in risk management and certification for financial institution employees.
It also will help increase public awareness on the benefits of credit bureau. This initiative is part of the Azerbaijan-Central Asia Financial Markets Infrastructure Advisory Services Project.
Aliya Azimova, IFC Officer in Azerbaijan, said IFC has taken part in the establishment of credit bureaus in more than 40 countries since 2001.
Well-developed and effective credit information sharing systems are critical to expanding access to credit for both individuals and small businesses. Credit bureaus allow financial institutions to get timely, credible, and objective information on borrowers, which could allow financial institutions to reduce loan processing time and credit defaults.
Phillip Keller, deputy director of the SECO for South Caucasus, said the $2.6 million project would mainly serve two objectives â€“ the establishment of a credit bureau and improvement of underwriting policy.