YEREVAN, December 7, /ARKA/. HSBC Bank Armenia Chief Executive Officer Tim Slater said to ARKA that the bank will close the year with profits.
He said although the bank suffered 1.5 billion Drams losses after March 3, nevertheless it managed to secure steady income.
On March 3, 2009 Armenia’s Central Bank reverted to the so-called floating exchange rate of the national currency against major hard currencies. As a result the Dram depreciated by 66.36 points falling from 305 Drams per $1 to 372.11 Drams. According to the official figures of the Central Bank, Armenian banks lost 4.7 billion Drams on March 3 alone.
According to Tim Slater, although the Armenian economy was hit severely by the global economic crisis, HSBS never regretted doing business here.
According to the bank’s official numbers, HSBC Bank Armenia earned 1.014 billion Drams in net profits in the first nine months of the year.
HSBC bank Armenia is a subsidiary of HSBC Bank plc, which holds 70% in HSBC Bank Armenia. The rest is held by Diaspora Armenians. HSBC Bank Armenia joined NASDAQ OMX Armenia in 2009 January. ($1 – 385.21 Drams). -0-
