ASSA-IRADA,
8, February 2008

German banking giant Commerzbank has opened a representation in Azerbaijan. This brings the number of its representations abroad to 28 and seven in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Commerzbank intends to be involved in the rapid economic development of the Caucasus region by branching out.

A member of the bank's Board of Managing Directors Martin Blessing told a news conference held on this occasion in Baku on Thursday that Commerzbank planned to forge ties with Azerbaijan's banking sector and business circles.

"I am very pleased that our bank is represented in the Caucasus. Our new office in Baku is another step taken within our development strategy in Central and Eastern Europe," Blessing said, emphasizing that the representation would cover the markets of Azerbaijan and Georgia in the initial stage.

He said the bank would provide one-of-the-kind services in the future aimed at drawing German businessmen to Azerbaijan. Its key objective is to work closely with the National Bank of Azerbaijan, other local banks, the government, overseas institutions and local business circles. Moreover, the Commerzbank office will provide information to its corporate clients interested in exploring economic growth opportunities in both Azerbaijan and Georgia. It will also conduct research in Azerbaijan's banking services sector.

Head of Commerzbank's Financial Institutions Per Fischer noted that the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth exceeds 30%, saying the new representation's goal was to boost investments in the country's regions.

Fischer said the banking giant has already opened subsidiaries and representations in 43 countries. More than 20 Azerbaijani commercial banks have chosen Commerzbank as their correspondent partner-bank. Depending on the success of the Baku representation's operation, its status could be upgraded into a subsidiary in the future. Fischer did not rule out that the German bank would acquire a participating interest in a local bank as well.

Fischer emphasized that in the past years alone, 15% of Germany's foreign trade with Azerbaijan was handled by Commerzbank. The last such deal, inked in December 2007, covered the allocation by the German bank of a $130 million syndicated loan to the International Bank of Azerbaijan, the South Caucasus republic's leading bank.

The central bank authorized the opening of Commerzbank's Baku representation last November. It will be headed by Marco Graff, who has extensive experience on banking in the former Soviet republics and has worked for the German major in Central Asia and Russia for over 10 years.