YEREVAN, November 29. /ARKA/. The rates on bank deposits in the Armenian national currency, the dram, are relatively high and need to be lowered, Ameriabank’s retail operations director Arman Barseghyan, told an online press conference.
“If we look at the rates on business and mortgage loans in USD and drams, the difference is only 1-2%, while the difference between the rates on deposits in USD and drams is striking. The rates on deposits in drams are relatively high. In order to form an appropriate margin between the rates on loans and deposits, it is necessary to cut the rates for the latter,” he said.
According to him, the rates on loans were declining more rapidly than on deposits, as evidenced by the decrease in the profitability of banks. In his opinion, in order for the banking system to ensure a satisfactory profitability, either consolidations should occur or rates should grow.
“We are now close to the level of interest rates, which are hardly to go down anymore. Now we expect the rates to stabilize, so today there is a good opportunity for the population and business to obtain affordable credit resources,’ he said.
According to the Central Bank, rates on loans in drams repayable within 12 months decreased by 2.3 percentage points in October from the beginning of the year to 13.17%, while the rates on loans in USD declined by 0.87 percentage points to 7.24%. Rates on deposits in drams in October fell by 1.13 percentage points to 8.77% and the rates on deposits in US declined by 1 percentage point to 4%. -0-
