12:25 - 17.07.2026

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July 17, Fineko/abc.az. One of the leading and reputable financial institutions in Azerbaijan's retail market, Bank of Baku OJSC, successfully completed the 1st half of 2026, increasing its net profit by 13.7% year-on-year up to 16.076 million manats (approx. $9.45 million).

However, the detailed analysis of bank's financial statements revealed a range of negative and risky trends.

Growth rate of bank's expenses (26.9% up to 93.183 million manats) outstripped growth rate of its revenues (26.3% up to 116.581 million manats), which indicates a drop in operational efficiency.

Another alarming signal was deterioration in the quality of the loan portfolio: while the bank saved on reserves for Jan-Jun 2025, it was forced to allocate 2.33 million manats from its profits to special reserves for possible loan losses in the 1st half of this year.

In addition, while bank's liabilities grew by 36.5% up to 1.21 billion manats, its own balance sheet capital increased only by 14.5% up to 181.29 million manats, demonstrating that bank's debts are growing 2.5-fold faster than its safety cushion.