Azerbaijan closed four of its remaining banks by revokingtheir licenses in a bid to remove risk from the country's banking sector,Bloomberg News said July 22.

The country's Financial Markets Supervisory Authority saidDekabank, Kredobank, ParabankOJSC and ZaminbankOJSC failed to meet capital requirements, did not classify assetsas required, did not set aside sufficient reserves and gave false reports on theiractivities, according to the report.

Azerbaijan earlier in the year revoked the licenses of sevenbanks as it fought to stabilize the economy, which has been battered by theweakening of the country's currency amid falling oil prices. The financial marketsauthority took over bank supervision from the central bank in February,Bloomberg noted.

The head of an economic research group in the capital Bakusaid more closures are likely.

"These aren't going to be the last banks to be shutdown," Vuqar Bayramov of the Center for Economic and Social Developmenttold Bloomberg by email. "The banks that profited hugely thanks to highinterest rates during the oil boom weren't prepared for the post-oil period."