Wednesday, February 22 2012 17:18
Areximbank-Gazprombank Group offers its customers up-to-date instruments for trade finance transactions
ArmInfo. Today Areximbank-Gazprombank Group CJSC held a seminar on "Up-to-date banking services for trade finance transactions" to familiarize the Bank's customers with the trade finance instruments applied in the international practice.
Deputy Director General of Areximbank-Gazprombank Group CJSC Rouben Khachatryan said that the seminar is aimed at familiarizing the customers with various types of letters of credit and banking guarantees, as well as with the mechanisms and terms of their provision. The audience was also told about the changes that have recently taken place in the Incoterms International Commercial terms and in the international rules of on-demand guarantees.
Khachatryan said that the Bank is going to increase the trade finance volumes by 30-40%, which totaled about $5 mln in 2011. For that purpose the Bank has big opportunities to fund the transactions by means of credit lines provided by Gazprombank (Russia) and other correspondent banks. "As cheap resources are attracted in the trade finance schemes, the value of such product is much lower than direct corporate lending. Today the average rate of standard loans is 11-13% p.a., while the average rates of trade finance by Gazprombank are 4-5%. At present these are the best terms of lending in Armenia", he stressed and added that this rate is equal to "the price" of Armenia's country risk.
It was also noted at the seminar that sometimes many businessmen dealing with trade export and import operations are not well aware of the banking products and services meant to not only considerably reduce the risks, but also to considerably reduce the expenses if the matter concerns operations with borrowed resources. This is especially relevant for such a country as Armenia, where the risks and expenses connected with transportation of cargoes abroad and from abroad are high and the deliveries are very often delayed for 2-3 months. It is especially optimal to carry out the leasing and factoring operations by the trade finance schemes, i.e. by various types of letters of credit rather than on the basis of standard loans.
Rouben Khachatryan told an ArmInfo correspondent that the Bank is negotiating with the Eurasian Development Bank to receive a credit line worth about 10 mln USD for development of trade finance. To note, the Bank is participating in a number of international projects of the World Bank and German Development Bank KfW.
According to the Ranking of Commercial Banks of Armenia by the Agency of Rating Marketing Information (ArmInfo), as of late 2011 the total capital of Areximbank-Gazprombank Group amounted to 15.7 bln AMD (6% annual growth), assets - 95.9 bln AMD (42.2% growth), provision of crediting - 75.9 bln AMD (52.5% growth). In the credit portfolio of the bank about 82% fell on lending to economy, particularly, the major part of the loans were replaced in the industrial sector (about 40%) and in the trade sphere (almost 20%). The net profit of the Bank totaled 1.0 bln AMD. The full package of shares of the Bank belongs to Gazprombank (Russia).
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