YEREVAN, February 5. /ARKA/. Financial intermediation by the Armenian banking system in December 2024 continued to outpace economic activity, also characterized by a higher growth rate of loans compared to deposits, according to the Armenian Ministry of Finance’s report titled “Review of Macroeconomic Developments. December 2024.” Unlike December 2023, the growth in loan volumes (24.2%) exceeded the growth in deposit volumes (13.9%). The volume of loans to residents increased by 27.1%, while deposits from residents grew by 15%.
The largest share in the structure of loan growth was attributed to consumer loans (contributing 7.8 percentage points, with a growth of 33.3%), mortgages (7.6 percentage points, with a growth of 30.6%), and construction loans (3.5 percentage points, with a growth of 32.7%). Lending to other sectors of the economy also showed significant growth.
“The trend of growth is also evident in industrial lending, which was supported by loans directed both to the mining sector, particularly for the extraction of metal ores, and to the manufacturing industry,” the report states.
Non-resident deposits increased by about 136.6 billion drams (a 10% increase) compared to the same period of the previous year.
Non-resident deposits remain at historically high levels, being 622.1 billion drams higher than in 2022.
According to the Central Bank of Armenia, the total volume of loans issued by commercial banks in Armenia in December 2024 amounted to 6.4 trillion drams, compared to about 6.15 trillion drams in November of the same year and 5.15 trillion drams in December 2023. Meanwhile, the total volume of deposits attracted by commercial banks in Armenia in December 2024 was 6.46 trillion drams, compared to 6.18 trillion drams in November and 5.68 trillion drams in December 2023. ($1 = 396.71 drams)
