Although the foundation of Islamic banking in Azerbaijan was laid during the years of independence, it has experienced a period of stagnation in the last 5-10 years.
In his statement to Modern.az, Ruslan Atakishiyev, an expert on Islamic Banking, stated that Islamic banking is a project that any banking institution can voluntarily initiate:
“The creation of legislation is an important factor. Activities based on general law are being prepared by the Central Bank. The relevant law will be formed by the middle of this year. This will provide the basis for separate Islamic banks to be opened in Azerbaijan in the next stage.”
The expert noted that, at the same time, it will be possible to open an Islamic banking window within banks:
“The main parties here are entrepreneurial entities. Entrepreneurs will boost a large volume of financial turnover. Access to a wide range of raw materials and equipment will be provided for businesspeople. In the next stage, small consumer and microcredits will also be covered.”
He noted that the deepening of this type of financial turnover will lead to the creation of other social instruments – zakat and sadaqah funds:
“Islamic banking can lead to a 3% expansion of financial turnover in the overall banking sector.
According to the calculations of the Center for Economic Resource Studies, the numerical result of the growth in the initial stage is estimated at 1 billion 200 million manats.
It should be noted that in 2024, the total assets of Islamic banking worldwide amounted to 4.32 trillion dollars.
