Armenia's financial agenda last week was determined by the banking sector's first-half results, changes in the money transfer sector, and exchange rate dynamics.
The total capital of Armenian banks as of June 30, 2026, amounted to 2 trillion 226.85 billion drams, an increase of 13.63% compared to June 30, 2025, and a decrease of 3.13% compared to March 31, 2026.
The total loan portfolio of Armenian banks as of June 30, 2026, exceeded AMD 8.56 trillion, representing a 23.56% increase compared to June 30, 2025, and a 6.8% increase compared to March 31, 2026.
All 17 operating commercial banks in Armenia were included in the list of the country's 1,000 largest taxpayers for the first half of 2026, according to data from the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia.
The "Golden Crown" payment system has restricted money transfers from Russia to Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and several other countries following the imposition of new EU sanctions, Russian media report.
As of March 31, 2026, the total loan portfolio of Armenian banks stood at AMD 8.01 trillion, marking a 22.63% rise compared to March 31, 2025, and a 4.05% increase from December 31, 2025.
As of June 30, 2026, Yerevan's budget revenues amounted to 49.2 billion drams, compared to the planned 44.6 billion drams for January-June, according to David Hakobyan, Acting Head of the Revenue Accounting and Collection Department at the Yerevan City Hall.
The recommendations of the MONEYVAL report on Armenia do not pose a direct threat to the country's economy, but their implementation must be proportionate and not create unjustified barriers for bona fide businesses and investors, according to economist Hrant Mikaelyan.
The report of the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) on Armenia documented the country's progress in developing its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing systems, but identified insufficient effectiveness in investigations, prosecutions, and confiscation of criminal assets, as well as the need for stronger oversight in several economic sectors.
Armenia's international foreign exchange reserves have reached a record high, but their sufficiency to cover the country's external needs in the medium term will remain below the average for countries with similar credit ratings, according to a report by the international rating agency Fitch Ratings.
Amid the S&P 500's worst quarter since 2022, rising global anxiety, and persistent geopolitical uncertainty, investors are increasingly asking whether this is a temporary market reaction or a deeper shift in investment logic.
Capital market development in Armenia is increasingly dependent not only on the growth in the number of issues and the expansion of instruments, but also on the quality of the environment in which investors make decisions.
The digital infrastructure of the Armenian capital market has made significant progress in recent years, but the market still lacks a more robust regulatory and technological framework for the full development of new financial instruments.
The capital market of Armenia is undergoing a significant transformation: there is an increasing interest in bonds, foreign investors are becoming more engaged, and there is a rising demand for new financial instruments, ranging from IPOs to digital assets
Armenia's financial agenda last week was determined by the banking sector's first-half results, changes in the money transfer sector, and exchange rate dynamics.
The total capital of Armenian banks as of June 30, 2026, amounted to 2 trillion 226.85 billion drams, an increase of 13.63% compared to June 30, 2025, and a decrease of 3.13% compared to March 31, 2026.
The total loan portfolio of Armenian banks as of June 30, 2026, exceeded AMD 8.56 trillion, representing a 23.56% increase compared to June 30, 2025, and a 6.8% increase compared to March 31, 2026.
All 17 operating commercial banks in Armenia were included in the list of the country's 1,000 largest taxpayers for the first half of 2026, according to data from the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia.
The "Golden Crown" payment system has restricted money transfers from Russia to Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and several other countries following the imposition of new EU sanctions, Russian media report.
As of March 31, 2026, the total loan portfolio of Armenian banks stood at AMD 8.01 trillion, marking a 22.63% rise compared to March 31, 2025, and a 4.05% increase from December 31, 2025.
As of June 30, 2026, Yerevan's budget revenues amounted to 49.2 billion drams, compared to the planned 44.6 billion drams for January-June, according to David Hakobyan, Acting Head of the Revenue Accounting and Collection Department at the Yerevan City Hall.
The recommendations of the MONEYVAL report on Armenia do not pose a direct threat to the country's economy, but their implementation must be proportionate and not create unjustified barriers for bona fide businesses and investors, according to economist Hrant Mikaelyan.
The report of the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) on Armenia documented the country's progress in developing its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing systems, but identified insufficient effectiveness in investigations, prosecutions, and confiscation of criminal assets, as well as the need for stronger oversight in several economic sectors.
Armenia's international foreign exchange reserves have reached a record high, but their sufficiency to cover the country's external needs in the medium term will remain below the average for countries with similar credit ratings, according to a report by the international rating agency Fitch Ratings.
Amid the S&P 500's worst quarter since 2022, rising global anxiety, and persistent geopolitical uncertainty, investors are increasingly asking whether this is a temporary market reaction or a deeper shift in investment logic.
Capital market development in Armenia is increasingly dependent not only on the growth in the number of issues and the expansion of instruments, but also on the quality of the environment in which investors make decisions.
The digital infrastructure of the Armenian capital market has made significant progress in recent years, but the market still lacks a more robust regulatory and technological framework for the full development of new financial instruments.
The capital market of Armenia is undergoing a significant transformation: there is an increasing interest in bonds, foreign investors are becoming more engaged, and there is a rising demand for new financial instruments, ranging from IPOs to digital assets
Government securities dominate Armenia's capital market, with a volume of approximately $7.4 billion in circulation, stated Martin Galstyan, Chairman of the Central Bank of the Republic.
Stablecoins pegged to the Armenian dram will allow the population to make domestic payments and significantly reduce cross-border payment costs, stated Martin Galstyan, head of the Central Bank of Armenia, in response to a question from ARKA news agency.
The State Revenue Committee of Armenia has identified a number of violations in the sphere of the purchase and sale of cryptoassets and the provision of related services, the agency reports.
The Central Bank of Armenia considers it important to address the challenges faced by real people and businesses, and it is through this lens that it views stablecoins as a strategic priority, stated Martin Galstyan, Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia.
Cryptoasset regulation in Armenia can be characterized as quite conservative, and some market participants believe this could hinder the industry's development, noted Arman Aleksanyan, co-founder and CEO of Eleveight AI.
Martin Galstyan, Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia, responded to a question from the ARKA news agency about whether the regulator is considering drafting a law on tokenization.
Martin Galstyan, Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia, commented on the criticism voiced by crypto market participants regarding the Law "On Cryptoassets."
Tokenization is a serious mechanism that could change the investment philosophy in Armenia, noted Felix Vartanov, CEO and shareholder of the investment and holding company BlackRiver Capital (Dubai).
The Armenian cryptocurrency market is gaining momentum: 2-3 banks plan to obtain separate licenses to handle these operations, Daniel Azatyan, head of the Union of Banks of Armenia (UBA), stated in response to a question from ARKA news agency.
The chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, Martin Galstyan, asserts that the process of identifying clients of cryptocurrency companies in the country should be as stringent as possible.
Armenian officials will be required to include information on crypto assets in their annual asset declarations. This decision was made at a government meeting on Thursday.
The IMF plans to assist the Central Bank of Armenia in its efforts to strengthen financial system oversight and modernize the payment system, including introducing regulation of stablecoin transactions in accordance with the recently adopted Law on Cryptoassets.
At an extraordinary session on Wednesday, the National Assembly of Armenia adopted amendments to the RA laws "On Cryptoassets" and "On Non-cash Transactions" in the second and final reading.
During an extraordinary session on Tuesday, Armenia's National Assembly approved a series of amendments to the laws governing cryptoassets and non-cash transactions in their first reading.
The process for licensing companies engaged in crypto asset transactions is set to commence in January 2026 and will continue for a duration of one year, as stated by Martin Galstyan, the head of Armenia's Central Bank.
The Armenia Securities Exchange (AMX) is considering the possibility of the Central Depository becoming a custodian of crypto assets, AMX CEO Hayk Yeganyan said in an interview with ARKA news agency.
