YEREVAN, February 20. / ARKA /. Armenia’s ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK and Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), one of the oldest and largest environment associations in Germany, have signed an agreement to join efforts for protection of Armenia’s environment and create favorable conditions for the development of ecotourism, the Bank said in a press release today.
It said cooperation framework includes organization and implementation of measures to improve environmental education, assisting eco-products producing SMEs in certification of their goods and support to farms and ecotourism.
Founded in 1899, NABU encompasses more than 520,000 members and sponsors, who commit themselves to the conservation of threatened habitats, flora and fauna, to climate protection and energy policy. NABU`s main objectives are the preservation of habitats and biodiversity, the promotion of sustainability in agriculture, forest management and water supply and distribution, as well as to enhance the significance of nature conservation in our society.
ACBA was established in 1996 as part of EU’s TACIS program. As a result of a long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation between ACBA Bank and the French Credit Agricole the latter became the biggest shareholder of ACBA in 2006, September. ACBA was restructured, becoming a closed joint stock company and was renamed ACBA CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK.
According to the latest data, the bank’s assets in 2014 grew by 7 percent year-on-year to 286.4 billion drams, its liabilities grew by 11 percent to 237 billion drams, while its capital fell by almost 9 percent to 49.37 billion drams. The bank closed 2014 with a loss of 4.6 billion drams against a 4.9 billion dram profit in 2013. -0-
