IFC to issue us $5mln credit to Ardshininvestbank (Armenia)

YEREVAN, June 10. /ARKA/. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will issue a US $5mln credit to Ardshininvestbank (Armenia).

Ardshininvestbank Board Vice-Chairman Sergey Virabyan and IFC Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe Snezana Stojlkovic signed a relevant agreement in Yerevan today.

Following the signing ceremony, Virabyan pointed out that the credit line is another of the bank’s achievements, which will allow clients to receive new products and services.

“Amid the crisis we afford our clients an opportunity to use new flexible financial instruments in the trade sector thereby supporting not only businesses, but also the country’s economy,” Virabyan said.

Stojlkovic pointed out the importance of the funds for the bank in the context of ample opportunities for businessmen to survive the crisis.

She said that the credit terms are not yet being published, but the emphasis will be placed on small-to-medium businesses, including the energy efficiency sector.

Emphasis will be placed on projects that will enhance Armenian companies’ competitiveness and maintain their expenses, especially during the financial crisis, Stojlkovic said.

Vice-Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Vache Gabrielyan pointed out the importance of attracting foreign funds to business and economy.

He also stressed the importance of IFC programs in Armenia, Gabrielyan said that the cooperation will give impetus to Ardshininvestbank’s development.

The bank is to use the credit to fund foreign trade, particularly the foreign transactions effected by Armenian companies to promote trade inside the country.

Thus, Ardshininvestbank has been involved in the IFC’s global program of trade financing and can now get connected to the international banking network rendering standard financial services to the foreign trade sector.

The IFC credit also enables Ardshininvestbank to enlarge the range of banking services and reduce commercial risks of Armenian businessmen working in the international trade sector.

Ardshininvestbank joined the IFC program of promoting international trade as an issuing bank and has been connected to the global network of banks rendering assistance top trade and financial organizations. Enhancing the bank’s potential for financing trade, IFC plans to increase developing countries’ share in the global trade and promote the turnover of goods and services between the countries.

Under the global trade financing program launched in 2005, the IFC provides partial and full guarantees for individual transactions and covers the risk-bearing expenses of issuing banks. The program helps issuing banks to increase the volume of business due to competitive prices.

Amid the global financial and economic crisis, the IFC augmented the funding of the trade financing program from US $.15bln to US $3bln.

The Ardshinivestbank CJSC received License #83 on February 23, 2007. The principal stockholders of the bank are the Region investment and financial company (86.82%) and, since late 2007, the International Finance Corporation (10%). The bank is an affiliate member of the MasterCard/Europay system and a stockholder of the Armenian Card CJSC, a card operation system in Armenia.

As of March 31, the bank’s capital totaled 26.6bln AMD, assets 121.1bln AMD, liabilities 94.5bln AMD, net profit 1.3bln AMD (January-March 2009).

As of February 6, 2009, the bank had 49 branches in Armenia and six branches in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). The bank also has a representative office in Paris, France. P.T. –0--