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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Armenian officials expect banks to remain strong in coming years

Samvel Chzmachyan, the chairman of the Union of Banks of Armenia, announced on Tuesday that no Armenian banks would shut down in the next two to three years.

The chairman said banks have a high level of liquidity and that 99 percent of their total lending is secured by good collateral, which can be sold without it affecting their liquidity, Arka reports.

The banks face stricter requirements due to pending Basel rules; however, Chzmachyan said that the banks still show a positive trend.

"I do not think that the crisis in the world and Armenia is over, but there are many countries with better developed economies, which are in a worse position," Chzmachyan said, according to Arka.

Armenia is home to 21 commercial banks. In the first quarter of 2014, their combined assets came to $7 billion, showing a 0.24 percent decrease from the beginning of the year. The country saw an approximately 0.8 percent decrease in liabilities, to $5.8 billion. In all, the country's total capital was up approximately 2.5 percent to $1.16 billion with net profit up nearly seven percent to $22 million.