Banking in Azerbaijan in its present form dates back to 1992, but it originated in the second half of the 19th century and continued through the Soviet period. It consists of the country's central bank, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, founded on 11 February 1992, and other commercial banks. The commercial banks in the country are joint–stock.
The only valid currency in Azerbaijan is the Azerbaijani manat. Only the Central Bank can issue manats. During the transition to a market economy in the 1990s, the banking system was not meeting the needs of socioeconomic development as expected, and followed old, Soviet laws. Banks in Azerbaijan have mandatory reserves, determination of norms, regulations of liabilities between creditors and depositors, and deposit insurance. These laws were introduced in 1996 after the system proved to violate laws and timely repayments of deposits. The country's banking system is now stable.