Does Premium Bank close? – High risk of problem loans

12:43 - 7.09.2023


September 7, Fineko/abc.az. The bank, which started its activity in 1994 as Joint-Stock Commercial Bank AZAL, then changed its name twice, originally called Bank Silk Way JSC, is now called Premium Bank JSC. The bank's problem loans are quite high compared to other private banks.

ABC.AZ reports that following Q2 of this year, the volume of problem loans of Premium Bank OJSC amounted to AZN 135.2 million.

The volume of loans not repaid on time made up 28.7% of total volume of loans. For comparison, the average rate of problem loans in the banking sector in Azerbaijan was 6.3%.

As can be seen from the figures, the problem loans of Premium Bank are many-times higher than the national average.

The main shareholder of Premium Bank is Zarifa Gamzayeva, the wife of Jahangir Askerov (the dismissed president of national airline AZAL).

Currently, Zarifa Gamzayeva owns 84.5% of the bank's shares.