DUSHANBE (TCA) — Bank loans in Tajikistan decreased by 13 percent in the first nine months of 2017 compared to the same period last year, Avesta news agency reports citing the country’s Monetary and Credit Policy Forecast for 2018.
As of the beginning of October, bank loans amounted to 9.2 billion somoni (over US $1 billion).
According to the document, loans in the national currency decreased by 8.3 percent and in foreign currency by 15 percent. Bank deposits decreased by 9.4 percent, down to 8.8 billion somoni.
Tajikistan now has 17 banks.
Tajikistan’s banking sector has been experiencing a difficult period since the end of 2015-early 2016, when four commercial banks — Tajiksodirotbank, Agroinvestbank, Fononbank, and Tajprombank — faced troubles. As a result, two banks — Fononbank and Tajprombank — have gone bankrupt and are currently in the process of liquidation.
The two other troubled banks — Tajiksodirotbank and Agroinvestbank — were on the brink of bankruptcy, but the government has found money to save them.
Depositors of these banks cannot get their money back in full at first demand and can withdraw them by installments only.
This situation has led to decreasing trust of the Tajik population in the country’s banking system.
Late in November, the head of the Tajik National Bank, Jamshed Nurmakhmadzoda, reported on the situation in the banking sector in the Tajik parliament.
He said that Tajiksodirotbank and Agroinvestbank had returned 115 million somoni to their clients over the past two months.
The chief banker said Agroinvestbank returned 61 million somoni to its depositors and Tajiksodirotbank – 54 million somoni. Agroinvestbank is yet to return 700 million somoni and Tajiksodirotbank still owes 904 million somoni to its depositors.
