Monday, June 7 2010 17:48

ArmInfo. VTB Leasing (Armenia) will be merged with VTB Bank (Armenia) within the next month, Mher Grigoryan, Deputy
Director General, member of VTB Bank (Armenia) Directorate, said at today's press conference when replying to ArmInfo correspondent's question.

"The leasing operations envisaged by VTB Group will be carried out via the VTB Bank (Armenia)",- he said.

Speaking of the volumes of the expected leasing transactions, Grigoryan said that at present a tendency is being observed that leasing operations are carried out without any mediator: for instance, an aircraft production plant makes its own leasing, i.e. big companies have been restructured, and they can afford working less with mediators. "This does not mean that we rule out large leasing transactions",- he said. According to Grigoryan, within the frames of the normative standards, one can come out as an agent of large transactions.

"If certain criteria of attraction and placement of money coincide, the Central Bank is ready to take this bloc out of the normative field. Now the CB provides all the opportunities for implementation of structural financing, that is to say, the bank is an agent through its balance, and in this respect there is legal need in services of an additional leasing company, as the bank has the right to carry out leasing operations without any restrictions",- he stressed.

For his part, Director of Financial Department of VTB Bank (Armenia) Yuri Gusev pointed out that Armenia needs leasing operations, and the demand for retail leasing is very high. "VTB Group includes the Moscow-based VTB Leasing company, which carries out leasing of large projects. And VTB 24 carries out retail leasing. I think it is inexpedient to maintain 2 separate companies in Armenia, and we can carry out leasing of large transactions and retail leasing through our own network",- said Gusev.

To recall, VTB Leasing (Armenia) was registered by the Central Bank of Armenia in March 2008. The company is the Armenian subsidiary of the Russian leasing company VTB Leasing. Before the crisis VTB Leasing (Armenia) was going to provide leasing services for upgrading the equipment of industrial enterprises, as well as in the sphere of construction. One of the largest projects of the company was to become acquisition of leased up-to-date aircraft facilities by the national air carrier - Armavia. To note, at present Armenia has also such operating leasing companies as ACBA Leasing, AGRO Leasing, and
UNILeasing, whose summary leasing portfolio was over 5 bln AMD as of 1 April 2010.