| Baku: Azerbaijan's banking sector is dominated by International Bank of Azerbaijan's 75% market share |
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AZERBAIJAN
Best bank: International Bank of Azerbaijan
With a 75% market share, International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) dominates the country's banking sector. It provides a much broader range of services than any of its peers and is investing heavily in its systems, technology and branch network. IBA is 50.2% owned by the government, although a long-standing plan to reduce the ministry of finance's stake through a sale of around 20% to the European Bank for Reconstruction&Development and a public share offering is still pending.
The bank's retail operations, conducted through its 32 domestic branches, are growing rapidly. IBA's share of retail customer deposits is more than 50% - compared with around 10% for its nearest competitor, United Universal Bank - and the bank has also upgraded its representative branch in Moscow to a full branch, to serve the large Azeri expatriate population there.