Azerbaijan’s unused credit card limits fall about $101.1M after cap

Photo: AI

BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 13. The volume of unused credit card funds in Azerbaijan has decreased by 172 million manat ($101.17 million) following the introduction of a cap limiting credit card limits to five times a borrower's net income.

This was stated in the Financial Stability Report published by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA).

According to the report, the regulatory measure was introduced to prevent excessive borrowing by limiting a borrower's credit card limit to a maximum of five times their net income after taxes.

As a result, compared with the same period last year, the utilized portion of credit card limits decreased by 179 million manat ($105.29 million), while the unused portion fell by 172 million manat ($101.17 million).

Meanwhile, the number of credit cards in Azerbaijan declined by 3.5%, or 74,000, over the past year.

The CBA noted that the decline in the number of credit cards and unused credit limits helps prevent excessive household borrowing and promotes responsible lending.

The report emphasized that the Central Bank continues to monitor consumer lending trends and household debt levels, while taking further steps to improve the regulatory framework in this area.

In the first half of 2026, Azerbaijan's banking sector loan portfolio increased by 11.8% year-on-year to 31.8 billion manat ($18.7 billion). Annual growth in consumer lending stood at 11.5%.