VTB bank (Armenia) expects serious rise in investments in 2015-2016
12.03.2015,
15:20
In an interview with local Russian-language newspaper 'Golos Armenii' (Voice of Armenia) the chief executive of the Russian-owned VTB Bank Armenia Yuri Gusev said the decision of Armenia's Central Bank to raise the amount of commercial banks' total minimum capital to 30 billion drams from current 5 billion drams will improve dramatically the liquidity of the banks and increase the lending potential by about 150 billion drams additionally to encourage new investments.
YEREVAN, March 12. / ARKA /. In an interview with local Russian-language newspaper 'Golos Armenii' (Voice of Armenia) the chief executive of the Russian-owned VTB Bank Armenia Yuri Gusev said the decision of Armenia's Central Bank to raise the amount of commercial banks' total minimum capital to 30 billion drams from current 5 billion drams will improve dramatically the liquidity of the banks and increase the lending potential by about 150 billion drams additionally to encourage new investments.
Gusev stressed that the main problem today is the high cost of lending offered by commercial banks.
"Our main task is to cut the lending rates for borrowers, while maintaining profitability.
According to him, lending to Armenia's agriculture and processing enterprises is very promising, especially given the large Russian market, where Armenia-made goods always sell well.
The second interesting sector for banks in this country is energy, 'since there is a large demand for loans to invest in hydropower projects and alternative energy.
"I think that solar power industry is very promising in Armenia, given the fact that the country has a great deal of sunny days throughout the year and even private households may use equipment to produce clean energy. I know that Armenia's energy and natural resources ministry is doing much in this direction. Besides, we are in talks with European lending organizations to attract fresh funding for financing projects of this type," he said.
VTB Bank (Armenia) is a 100% subsidiary of Russian VTB Bank. It runs 67 branch offices throughout Armenia, more than any other local bank.
The bank’s assets in late 2014 stood at 379.6 billion drams (a 25.6% year-on-year increase); its liabilities were worth 334.8 bln drams (26.3% growth), total capital stood at 44.7 bln drams (20.2% growth), loan investments - about 244.3 bln drams (11.6% increase). The 2014 profit of the bank amounted to 777.14 mln drams, as compared to 5.6 bln drams in 2013. ($1 – 479.54 drams).M.M.-0-
