YEREVAN, May 12. /ARKA/. Small and medium businesses account for approximately 37% of Armenia’s economy and receive approximately 60% of business loans, stated Daniel Azatyan, Chairman of the Union of Banks of Armenia.
“There are approximately 115,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises operating in Armenia, which account for slightly more than a third of the country’s tax revenues. At the same time, only approximately 16,000 enterprises have loans, with a total of approximately 56,000 loans. The total volume of loans provided to SMEs is approximately 2 trillion drams, equivalent to approximately 60% of all loans issued to businesses,” Azatyan noted, speaking at the “SME Sector: Impact and Development Challenges” conference in Yerevan on Tuesday.
He emphasized that these indicators demonstrate significant potential for further expansion of business lending.
“For creditworthy companies, access to financing is quite high today. But we must talk not only about accessibility but also about responsible and high-quality financing,” said the head of the Union of Banks.
Azatyan recalled that a new regulation of the Central Bank of Armenia, aimed at reducing credit risks for reliable borrowers, came into effect in April.
According to him, this has allowed commercial banks to reduce interest rates on dram-denominated loans for small and medium-sized businesses by 1-1.5 percentage points since May.
“According to our data, this decision affected approximately 20,000 loans with a total loan balance of approximately 200 billion drams,” he said.
Azatyan cited administrative difficulties, frequently changing requirements, and a lack of awareness of existing loan programs as the main challenges facing SMEs.
The head of the Union of Banks also emphasized the importance of cooperation between the state, the financial system, and international partners in developing the sector.
