YEREVAN, June 7, .ARKA/. HSBC Bank Armenia, the first international bank to operate in the country, is celebrating 15 years in Armenia, the bank said in a press release.
HSBC Bank Armenia marked this occasion with a celebration at the 7th century temple of Zvartnots, with the participation of Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Government and Central Bank officials, HSBC clients and HSBC Group and local staff.
Tigran Sargsyan said it was hard to overestimate the importance of the courageous step taken by HSBC in the mid-90s, when Armenia was facing an economic, political, financial and social crisis. It was a step that gave confidence towards the country’s future and attracted other investors to Armenia.
“The Government of Armenia will do everything to create a favorable environment for investors in Armenia as well as for HSBC, to prosper further for the benefit of people in Armenia and its stakeholders,” said Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.
Peter Boyles, Chief Executive Officer HSBC Continental Europe said that HSBC Armenia is an example of building a strong business within a short space of time through purely organic means. “I want to assure the Armenian Government, the Central Bank and clients that HSBC will remain absolutely committed to Armenia.
One of the initiatives we will be very keen to expend on is to connect Armenian people all over the world to our business here”, said Peter Boyles.
HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc was the first international bank to open in Armenia in 1996. The bank is a joint venture between the HSBC Group, which has 70 percent ownership, and members of overseas Armenian businesses.
The bank offers a wide range of products and services to individual as well as corporate customers, including personal financial services, commercial banking and treasury and capital markets services. Thanks to the HSBC network in 87 countries and territories, the bank is uniquely positioned to provide truly international services to its customers.
The Yerevan office opened with 18 staff and under 100 clients. HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc today has more than 33 thousand individual and five thousand corporate customers and employs 384 employees at eight branches and offices in Yerevan.
The bank has one of the largest networks of more than 50 ATMs located throughout Yerevan. HSBC in Armenia has grown assets from five million US dollars in 1996 to just 405 million US dollars today.
HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc was named the “Best Bank in Armenia” for the third year in a Global Finance survey which listed “The World’s Best Emerging Market Banks in Asia”. –0—
