Banking sector thrives in Azerbaijan as profits climb to $505 million

The combined net profit of Azerbaijan’s banks reached 858.7 million manats ($505.1 million) in January-July 2026, marking a 25.8% increase compared with the same period last year.

As Caliber.Az reports, citing the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, banks’ interest income rose 13.9% year-on-year to 3.2057 billion manats ($1.886 billion) during the reporting period. Non-interest income increased 11.5% to 1.1973 billion manats ($704.3 million).

Interest expenses totaled 1.1818 billion manats ($695.2 million), up 15.8%, while non-interest expenses increased 5.5% to 1.8753 billion manats ($1.103 billion).

Banks’ operating profit stood at 1.3072 billion manats ($768.9 million) in January-July, representing a 20.4% year-on-year increase.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani banks paid 213.4 million manats ($125.5 million) in profit tax during the seven-month period, up 28.9% from a year earlier.

As of July 31, some 21 banks held operating licenses in Azerbaijan, down from 22 at the end of 2025. Nine banks had foreign capital, unchanged from the end of last year.

The banking sector employed 27,555 people as of July 31, an increase of 0.6% compared with the end of 2025.

By Vafa Guliyeva