Tuesday, May 4 2010 11:17
Mortgage Association of Armenia creates a consulting center
ArmInfo. The Association of Mortgage Market Participants of Armenia intends to shortly open a consulting center for citizens, said Eduard Oremyan, Executive Director of the Association, at the fourth annual meeting of the Mortgage Association.
According to him, the consultation center will work at raising the public awareness of the mortgage market, terms of crediting, necessary documents, etc. At the same time, Oremyan said that at present the Association is working at revealing and removing the problems hindering development of mortgage crediting.
"We keep on working at raising the public awareness of the mortgage crediting opportunities by means of various publications",- he said and added that one of such publications is "Mortgage Loans: 20 questions and answers" published jointly with the International Finance Corporation. Oremyan pointed out that minimal standards of mortgage crediting have been worked out and introduced with the support of the Association of Mortgage Market Participants of Armenia.
Oremyan said that since the beginning of 2010 the mortgage market has been increasingly active and this tendency will continue throughout the year. This activity is due to dropping real estate prices and active governmental support. He said that the National Mortgage Company and the Affordable Housing for Young Families company are designed to foster the market's development.
Member of the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia Vakhtang Abrahamyan said that 2009 was a hard year for the Armenian economy and mortgage crediting, in particular. "On the one hand, we were forced to toughen the terms of mortgage lending, on the other, to reduce its amount," Abrahamyan said.
He said that the creation of the National Mortgage Company was a decisive step, which helped to increase the amount of crediting. In Q1 2010 the mortgage credit portfolio of Armenia grew by 1.2bln AMD, which is a promising figure.
The Association of Mortgage Market Participants of Armenia was set up Mar 10 2006 and comprises banks, credit, insurance, real estate and construction companies. The Representative of KfW to Armenia is one of the members of the Association's Board.
According to the Agency of Rating Marketing Information (ArmInfo), Apr 1 2010 the mortgage credit portfolio of the Armenian banks and credit companies totalled 96.2bln AMD - 8.6% quarterly and 6.1% annual growths.
Expert: Electricity tariff containment in Armenia is only temporary
Political Scientist: Armenia`s withdrawal from Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to result in its dependence on Azerbaijani and Turkish markets
Artur Avetisyan: All discussions regarding the choice of a future NPP model will remain mere talk until there is a vision for strategic development
ATI.SU: Demand for international cargo transportation 30% up in Armenia
Civil Contract nominates Armen Ktoyan for Central Bank Board Member position
Armenia, France considering prospects for expanding technological cooperation 
Over 99.9% of wheat imported to Armenia comes from Russia