YEREVAN, October 14, /ARKA/. The net interest spread of Armenian banks in August 2013 decreased by 0.2 percentage points from 2012 August to 5.3%, the Central Bank of Armenia said in a statement posted on its official website.
The net interest spread is the difference between the average interest a bank receives on loans and the average interest it pays on deposits. The net interest spread is one of the main factors that determine a bank’s profitability.
The net interest spread of deposits in Armenia’s national currency, the dram, is said to have decreased by 0.4 percentage point to about 6 percent, while that of deposits in USD is said to have dropped by 0.03 percentage point to 4.58 percent.
According to the Central Bank, the average interest rate on loans in 2013 August was 14.6 percent (a growth of 0.13 p.p.), while the interest on deposits was 9.3 percent, a growth of 0.4 p.p. There are now 21 commercial banks operating in Armenia. .-0-
