Armenia’s risk premium is at a historic low, says Central Bank Deputy Chairman

YEREVAN, April 8. /ARКА/. Armenia’s risk premium is at a historic low, said Armen Nurbekyan, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia.

“Since 2022, following the shock, Armenia’s risk premium has consistently declined—from 6.5 percentage points to approximately 2.5 percentage points. In 2022, there was a sharp spike, so a sort of normalization occurred. However, even before that, the normal level was approximately 1 percentage point higher—around 250 basis points compared to the current level,” he said at the Doing Digital 2026 forum, which is being held under the slogan “Connecting Platforms and Economies.”

In this regard, Nurbekyan noted that the capital outflow observed in emerging markets has not been recorded in Armenia, at least until now, as the risk premium remains fairly stable.

“Institutional investors are coming and investing in the Armenian dram-denominated government bond market. These are investors with significant investments in Armenia,” he emphasized. The Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank added that their share has grown significantly.

“Basically, in 2021, it was zero, but now it’s around 10%,” he said.

Nurbekyan summarized that, from an international investment perspective, Armenia is currently perceived as a country in which investors are willing to invest long-term.

In March, Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan stated that the risk premium in Armenia had significantly decreased over the past year—by approximately 100 basis points—but, due to events in the Middle East, it subsequently increased slightly—by 20 basis points.

In January of this year, Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan announced a reduction in the risk premium on Armenian Eurobonds, calling it historically low. According to him, while Eurobonds were placed at a rate of 7.1% in March 2025, and the risk premium was 2.86%, or 286 bps, in January 2026 this figure fell to 196 bps, or 1.96%.

ARKA News  Agency is the forum’s media partner. -0-

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