In the first decades of the century, banks in Baku issued promissory notes and interest bearing securities which were used during sale transactions and as a form of IOUs.

Usage of promissory notes was widely developed during the existence of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

Among the main shareholders of the bank were the chairman of board of directors, Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, Shamsi Asadullayev, Musa Naghiyev, Murtuza Mukhtarov and others.

On July 26, 1999 Presidential Decree on "On Providing the Activity of State Committee for Securities under the auspices of the President of Azerbaijan Republic" formally established an agency under the office of the President of Azerbaijan overseeing organized securities market in the country.

Since the inception, the committee has undertaken several important reforms on transparency of processing the security markets, adopted acts restricting potential risks in the markets to the minimal level, protecting rights of investors to comply with international standards.