YEREVAN, February 19. /ARKA/. Armenia’s financial market in terms of banks is quite successful, Armen Hovhannisyan, head of investment banking at Dimension Investments, believes.
“Armenia’s banking system is quite strong. If we compare it with post-Soviet countries, except for the Baltic states, the Armenian banking system is of very high quality both in terms of assets, compliance and innovation,” he said in an interview with ARKA news agency.
Noting that Armenian banks are in good condition, Hovhannisyan added that it is necessary to work on capitalization and move forward – to develop the financial market and investment sector.
Asked whether he agreed with the opinion of Armenian Stock Exchange Director Hayk Yeganyan, who said earlier that the development of the capital market in Armenia is partially hampered by the lack of qualified financial intermediaries, investment banks and brokers, Armen Hovhannisyan said that the situation has changed now.
“The market is much more active. We are constantly doing placements. The dynamics have strengthened significantly,” he added.
According to the ARKA Agency ranking based on the reports of Armenian banks published in accordance with IFRS, the net profit of the Armenian banking sector in 2024 amounted to over AMD 363.1 bln, increasing by 60.9% compared to 2023.
As of December 31, 2024, their combined assets totalled 11.023 billion drams (20.1% growth compared to the beginning of the year). The volume of credit investments, net of reserves, amounted to 6,270 billion drams, having increased by 24.6% from the beginning of the year. Total liabilities in 2024 increased by 20% to AMD 9,243 bln, with liabilities to customers amounting to AMD 6,431 bln, up by 16.6%. The total capital of Armenian banks totalled AMD 1,779.3 bln, having increased by 20.5% from the beginning of the year. ($1 – AMD 396.23) -0-