Financial Sector Technical Assistance Project

closed

The Financial Sector Technical Assistance Project will assist the Government of Azerbaijan implement, and develop its financial sector strategy, through a technical assistance (TA) focused on bank restructuring, and divestiture, and, by enhancing banking infrastructure, and supervision. The main components will: 1) provide advisory services to the United Universal Joint Stock Bank (BUSbank) in strengthening, and improving its organization, and operation. It includes a foreign advisor to provide TA in the transformation of the Agroprom Bank into Agrarcredit, a non-bank credit institution, in addition to overseeing the privatization of the BUSbank. A resident advisor will supervise the bank's managerial/prudential activities, while short-term advisors, and consultants will assist in the implementation of new international accounting standards, and, in information technology, and management information systems; 2) strengthen the capacity of the Azerbaijan National Bank (ANB), supported by advisory services in its strategy formulation, banking supervision, and infrastructure. Funds will be provided for hardware/software, needed to finalize implementation of the payment system reform, and, for the expansion of ANB's general ledger system; and, 3) provide project management, and administration support, through procurement advisors, while incremental operating costs will also be financed.