[29]
ii.
16.7%
iii.
1.7%
iv.
22.5%
v.
0%
vi.
10.8%
vii.
4.2%
18.
Disclosure
requirements
Disclosure index combining existence of
a variety of disclosure requriements
4 of 5
requirements
42
19.
Dispute resolution
Index reflecting the existence of formal
internal and external dispute resolution
mechanisms
both internal
and external
20.
Usage expenses
43
Average cost to open a basic current
account
5 AZN
21.
Average cost of maintaining a basic bank
current account (annual fee)
24 AZN
22.
Average cost of credit transfers
92 AZN
23.
Credit barriers
% of SMEs requried to provide collateral
on their last bank loan
85.5
44
24.
Getting credit: Distance
to frontier
67.87
Table 7. Financial inclusion in Azerbaijan on extended G20 indicators.
It should be noted with regret that we failed to estimate some of G20
indicators to clearly see where financial inclusion is in the Azerbaijani economy
due to lack of public data.
The indicator, that requires greater attention in the mode of access to
financial services and resources, is the number of ATMs per 100,000 adults. To
compare, the average indicator on Europe and Central Asia, as well as over the
world on the indicator in question is as follows
45
:
42
The only un-met requirement is the plain language requriement (understandable, prohibition of hidden clauses).
43
Authors used information on tariff rates related to relevant indicators of 27 banks to identify cost of use (there are
31 active banks in the country; 4 of them have not placed relevant data on their websites). Only national currency
denominated internal transactions and tariffs were considered on all indicators.
44
Source: World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Azerbaijan Enterprise Survey (ES)
2013, Ref. AZE_2013_ES_v01_M. The indicator relates to 2013.
45
Source:
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/FB.ATM.TOTL.P5?end=2015&locations=Z7&start=2011
[30]
Chart 5. Number of ATMs per 100,000 adults.
As we see from Chart 5 while our country is close to the world average on
the relevant indicator, it considerably falls behind Europe and Central Asia.
Proposals to strengthen financial inclusion in Azerbaijan
Evidence from the secured transactions mechanism
Introduction of the Law on Encumbrance of Movable Property is an
example of efforts under way to shape a secured transactions infrastructure, which
was signed into law by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on 24 May 2017
46
.
The Law regulates the legal regime of movable property encumbrance in
connection with enforcement of obligations, rules for exercising the rights of
holders of encumbrances on movable property, issues related to imposition of
arrest on movable property, maintenance and use of the state register of
encumbrance of movable property.
We consider that improvement of the secured transactions infrastructure in
our country will be critical in easy access of SMEs and agri-businesses to financial
services and resources and their effective use. Hence, we researched and issued
46
http://president.az/articles/23862
30.0
31.3
33.1
35.1
36.2
58.6
60.9
58.2
61.0
61.8
30.0
33.1
36.5
37.6
40.5
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
140.0
160.0
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
# of ATMs per 100.000 adults
Azerbaijan
Europe & Central Asia
World average
[31]
proposals on the secured transactions infrastructure that may contribute to boosting
financial inclusion in this section of the study.
Mobile phones should not be ignored as an effective form of movable
property. The population of Azerbaijan has reached the level comparable with
developed countries in use of mobile communication services. Estimations display
that
47
mobile cellular subscription index per 100 adults in Azerbaijan was 111.28,
while registered mobile phone numbers reached 10,697,300
48
in 2015. It should be
highlighted that all mobile phones in Azerbaijan are state registered mandatorily
whose owners can be identified during registration. At that, it may be safely said
that the population own an item to be pledged as collateral. We may pay attention
to the analysis by the author of the paper as follow-up. The research conducted by
authors detected that according to the Electronic Government Bulletin by the
Ministry of Transport Communication and High Technologies 670,611 mobile
devices were registered in Azerbaijan in 2016. In the similar period monthly price
per a mobile phone averaged AZN 240.54
49
in the country. Simple mathematic
estimations can determine that average value of mobile phones registered and in
circulation in 2016 amounted to AZN 161,308,769. This figure allows to calculate
some portion of ‘dead capital’ to be involved to the circulation as movable
property.
Pledging movable property as collateral will trigger the development of agri-
sector too. Currently, credit institutions are not so eager to fund agriculture. Let us
have a look at the dynamics of investments to agriculture
50
:
47
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.CEL.SETS.P2?locations=AZ&view=chart
48
http://www.stat.gov.az/source/communication/
49
Source:The State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan
50
Source:
https://www.cbar.az/