Sunday, June 24 2012 20:28
BSTDB supports mortgage financing in Armenia
ArmInfo. The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) signed a USD 8 million loan agreement with Ardshininvestbank for mortgage financing in Armenia.
The press service of BSTDB reports that Ardshininvestbank will use the facility, carrying a tenor of seven years, to provide residential mortgage loans to private individuals.
The BSTDB financing will support the Armenian Government's priority to develop housing and mortgage markets in the country. Enhancing Ardshininvestbank's mortgage lending capacity, the facility will improve the availability of affordable long-term mortgage loans for Armenia's population.
"We are pleased to extend our first mortgage finance facility in cooperation with Ardshininvestbank in Armenia that will help people to improve their living conditions," said Andrey Kondakov, BSTDB President, at the singing of the loan agreement.
"Mortgage lending is one of Ardshininvestbank's strategic priorities and this loan facility will enable us to increase our portfolio significantly in this segment. With a broad outreach through our extensive branch network, we are confident to have a fast and successful implementation of the project," stated Mher Grigoryan, Chairman of the Management Board of Ardshininvestbank.
Established in Dec 2002, Ardshininvestbank is one of the lending Armenian banks. As of end-Mar 2012, it ranked the 6th largest by assets and 4th largest by capital. The bank has a big network of 55 branches covering Yerevan and all regions. In Dec 2007 IFC acquired a 10% stake in Ardshininvestbank.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters is in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is SDR 3 billion (appx. EUR 3.3 billion). BSTDB is rated long-term A by Standard and Poor's and A3 by Moody's.