Wednesday, November 16 2011 18:08
Unibank intends to increase its portfolio of microcredits to 1.5 bln AMD in 2012
ArmInfo. Unibank intends to increase its portfolio of microcredits to 1.5 bln AMD in 2012, and to 1 bln AMD by the end of 2011.
The press service of Unibank told ArmInfo that at present the portfolio of microcredits of the Bank exceeds 400 mln AMD. According to the source, the Bank started providing the microcredits in the middle of 2011. The Bank is providing the microcredits exclusively at the expense of its own resources attracted in the domestic market. Most of the customers are engaged in retail trade of food and nonfood commodities, provision of services or small production, for instance production of cereal products.
Unlike lending to the large and medium business, microcrediting has a huge potential, and the commercial banks have already started using this potential. Certainly, this intensifies the competition in the given segment of crediting between the banks and the universal credit organizations, hereby stimulating improvement of the conditions, including reduction of interest rates for the customers, the source says. Unibank offers two types of microcredits: UNI-EXPRESS и UNI-MICRO.
The key peculiarity of UNI-EXPRESS is that the Bank demands no compulsory mortgage: two guarantees of an individual and a legal entity will be enough. For UNI-MICRO the liquid value of collateral may be no more than 50% of the loan amount. Moreover, both movable and immovable property, and even appliances can be mortgage. The loans have quite flexible redemption schedules.
The maximal amount of UNI-EXPRESS is 3.5 mln AMD, and that of UNI-MICRO ranges from 3.5 mln to 6 mln AMD. The interest rates of the given loans range from 16% to 22% p.a., depending on the loan currency - AMD, USD or EUR.
"Given the fact that the issue of affordability of credit resources for small enterprises is one of the topical issues today, the Bank has considerable simplified the procedure of loan provision. The loan application is approved on the basis of analysis of the customer's solvency within one banking day. Early redemption of the loans is permitted without any restrictions or fines", the source says.
At present Unibank prefers providing microcredits to private entrepreneurs in Yerevan, though such loans of Unibank have been provided in Kotayk, Aragatsotn and Ararat regions for a month in the pilot regime. In the near future the Bank will expand its regional geography. In early 2012 it will start providing microcredits in Shirak and Lori regions, and later - in other regions as well. As of 30 September 2011, the total portfolio of business loans of Unibank amounted to about 55 bln AMD. The number of business loans issued has increased by 48%.
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