AccessBank completes another successful year in 2008

Baku, January 26, 2009. Despite the strong headwinds facing the banking sector in 2008, AccessBank’s growth continued to outpace that of the Azerbaijan banking sector.

Total assets of AccessBank increased 81% during the year to finish at USD 241 million. AccessBank was also one of the top loan disbursers in Azerbaijan in 2008 as the loan portfolio increased 84% to surpass USD 200 million and the number of borrowing clients increased by 50% to more than 70,000. The deposit portfolio saw similarly impressive growth during the year, increasing by 91%. These factors helped boost total profit to over USD 13 million by year-end.

Six new branches were also opened during 2008 and over 200 employees were recruited to AccessBank’s staff. Other significant events include the successful conclusion in February of AccessBank’s and Azerbaijan’s first bond on international capital market, and receiving the highest rating among Azerbaijan’s private banks from Fitch Ratings (BB+ matching the country ceiling). In addition AccessBank also implemented its successful re-branding in September, from its original name: Microfinance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA).

Dr. Andrew Pospielovsky, General Manager of AccessBank, commenting on 2008 said, ”Despite the turbulence in the financial world, 2008 was very successful for AccessBank. We disbursed more than 4,000 loans per month to small businesses all over the country, expanded the branch network to extend modern banking services to a greater portion of the country, and we continued to prove ourselves as the most reliable banking partner for the small businesses and people of Azerbaijan.”