Monday, June 25 2012 19:53
Ardshininvestbank and Black Sea Trade And Development Bank Have Signed a USD 8 Million Loan Agreement
ArmInfo. Ardshininvestbank and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) signed a loan agreement aiming at provision of additional resources for mortgage lending in Armenia. Ardshininvestbank will draw on funds amounting to USD 8 million during the next 6 months and extend affordable long-term residential mortgage loans, including jumbo loans with a maximum amount of USD 200,000, the press service of Ardshininvestbank told ArmInfo.
"Real estate construction, which once strongly supported the economic growth in Armenia, suffered greatly through the recent crisis. In this regard, it is also the responsibility of the banking sector to stimulate the real estate and mortgage lending markets. This facility with the BSTDB will allow Ardshininvestbank to assertively expand its mortgage loan", said Mher Grigoryan, Chairman of the Management Board at Ardshininvestbank.
"While the speculative demand for residential real estate has significantly subsided, the fundamentals show strong demand still exists, as the the real estate market remains obsolete and densely populated, with often 2 families living in small apartments. Short- term and high interest rate mortgage loans are the main obstacles to expansion of the scope and scale of such lending. With this project, we are going to improve the situation, solving some of the existing issues, particularly by making mortgage loans more affordable and accessible in Armenia", added Grigoryan.
To note, the agreement between the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) and Ardshininvestbank was signed on June 24. The press service of BSTDB reported that Ardshininvestbank will use the facility, carrying a tenor of seven years, to provide residential mortgage loans to private individuals.
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.
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