YEREVAN, December 30. /ARKA/. Armeconombank and International Finance Corporation signed a $10-million loan agreement in Yerevan on Thursday.
Of this amount, $5 million will be provided by the IFC and $ million by the Netherlands’ FMO.
Armen Naljyan, executive director of Armeconombank, said after signing the agreement that these financial resources would be lent to small- and mid-scale businesses for three to five years at 12%-and-higher annual interest rates.
“These loans mainly intended for trade, industry and services will make it possible to extend the bank’s client base and will spur economic growth in the country,” he said.
Stressed the importance of cooperation with international organizations, Naljyan said that that the bank would make every effort to attract new financial resources also in 2011 and to enlarge its loan portfolio.
He said that Armeconombank’s 2010 loan portfolio amounted to AMD 28.2 billion, of which 50% was lent to small and medium businesses.
Arman Barkhudaryan, adviser on investments of the ICF office in Armenia, said that this is the fourth credit program of cooperation with Armeconombank.
“The bank has a rich experience and firm positions in lending small and mid-scale businesses,” he said. “Grounding on this success, we find it necessary to enhance availability of loans to small businesses, taking into account their limited financial capacity in the post-crisis period. We will continue such programs in cooperation with our partners.”
Armeconombank was registered on August 26, 1991.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development holds 25%+one share and 53.4% of the bank shares belong to Sukiasyans, the family that had established the bank.
The bank has 35 branches in Armenia and one branch in Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. ($1= AMD 362.84). –0–
