Finance

Home page

Finance

EBRD: SOFAZ prevents drain of Central Bankâ€™s foreign reserves

04 November 2016 08:33 (UTC +04:00)

Baku – APA-Economics. The share of foreign exchange deposits as total deposits increased from approximately 50 per cent in the beginning of 2015 to approximately 80 per cent in August 2016 in Azerbaijan, APA-Economics reports citing to EBRD Regional Economic Prospects.

At the end of the third quarter of 2016, the combined assets of the State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) and of the Central Bank’s foreign exchange reserves stood at approximately US$ 40 billion (75 per cent of 2015 GDP), providing adequate safeguards against foreign exchange liquidity risks. Official foreign reserves of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan decreased by approximately US$ 11 billion since the fourth quarter of 2014, before stabilising at around US$ 4.2 billion in April-September 2016. SOFAZ provided liquidity for the Central Bank’s foreign exchange auctions, preventing further drain of Central Bank’s foreign reserves in the second and third quarters of 2016.