BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 7. The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) approved the "Roadmap for Sustainable Finance for 2022-2026" and the "Banking Standard for Corporate Lending", aimed at stimulating 'green' financing and boosting the bank's participation in regulating energy efficient initiatives, First Deputy Chairman of the CBA Rashad Orujov said, TurkicWorld reports.

He made the remark during a conference on "Economic reforms and modern challenges for improving the business environment" in Baku.

According to him, on February 15, the Board of Directors of the CBA considered the mentioned roadmap and approved measures.

"To effectively implement and coordinate the measures outlined in the roadmap, an expert group has been formed, representing representatives from the CBA and other institutions, as well as representatives from industry associations and financial institutions. By the decision of the Board of Directors of the CBA on February 28, 2023, the Corporate Credit Banking Standard was approved, introducing changes and additions to a series of the bank's standards related to lending in connection with 'green' financing," he noted.

Besides, according to him, the classification of assets in accordance with sustainability principles has been defined as the basis for providing preferential conditions to stimulate renewable energy sources, as well as electric and hybrid vehicles, through high-yield loans and credits.

"The legal framework for 'green' initiatives has been defined, allowing the CBA to more actively participate in the regulation and control of the implementation of these initiatives. As regards 'gender' finances, the current gender debt structure and the distribution of financial institutions have been established. Measures to increase financial accessibility and determine the needs of women have been proposed to improve the financial position of women and increase their share in the non-financial sector," he added.