VTB Bank (Armenia) joins government's third assistance program to offset consequences of coronavirus pandemic
YEREVAN, June 29. /ARKA/. VTB Bank (Armenia) has begun providing soft loans to small businesses as part of the 3rd program of the Armenian government designed to offset the economic consequences of the coronavirus shock. The bank said in a news release today that the program is being carried out jointly with the Ministry of Economy and the Investment Support Center.
The third government program is aimed at mitigating the risk of current liquidity of the country's small business entities that arose as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It enables small businesses to claim loans at 0% rate in the first 2 years, and 12% for the rest of the maturity period (the effective annual interest rate is 1.37%).
This program is for entrepreneurs with an annual turnover of 24 to 500 million drams. The maximum loan amount is 50 million drams, but not more than 10% of the annual turnover of the company. The program also allows companies to draw up a 6-month grace period for the payment of the principal loan amount. The bank said it charges no annual servicing fee.
The loans can be used by the companies to pay salaries and other equivalent payments to their employees for a maximum of three months (but not more than 300,000 drams for each employee monthly), pay taxes, duties and mandatory government and community budget payments for a maximum of three months, procure and import f raw materials, with the proviso that they be used in Armenia for the production purposes by the same business entity, to pay electricity, water, natural gas, communications and telecommunications bills for a maximum of three months, as well as pay rents.
To apply for a soft loan, a company needs to contact the Investment Support Center by clicking this link. More detailed information on the 3rd program is available on the official website of the government.
General information about bank loans for businesses can be obtained by visiting the official website of the bank or by calling its Contact Center at 87-87.
The bank is controlled by the Central bank of Armenia.
VTB Bank (Armenia) CJSC became a member of VTB International Financial Group in April 2004. Currently, the second largest VTB Bank PJSC in Russia owns 100% of the shares of VTB Bank (Armenia). VTB Bank (Armenia) is one of the leading banks in Armenia in terms of several major indicators. ($1 - 482.44 drams). -0-
