YEREVAN, June 1, /ARKA/. Chief executive officer of Armenian privately-owned Araratbank, Ashot Osipyan, said Monday the interest rate for loans and bank deposits in US Dollars will be lowering.
Speaking to journalists after an annual meeting of the bank’s shareholders, he described the current refinancing rate as ‘optimal.’ He also predicted a full-year inflation rate of 5-7%. According to government data, the inflation in May rose by 1% from April.
Araratbank focuses primarily on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and retail clients. A 74.1% stake in the bank is owned by Barsegh Beglarian, the owner of Flash petrol trader. EBRD holds 25% plus one share.
According to ARKAs data, on March 31 Araratbank’s assets stood at 41.2 billion Drams, liabilities-at 33 billion Drams, its total capital was worth 8.3 billion Drams, chartered capital was worth 6.1 billion Drams, credit investments-18.9 billion Drams. In the first quarter of this year it earned 304 million Drams in net profits. -0-
