Thursday, October 10 2013 16:24
Armenian banks have received 10,000 new customers and $4 million more deposits thanks to EBRD financial literacy programs for remittance recipients
ArmInfo. Armenian banks have received 10,000 new customers and $4 million more deposits thanks to EBRD financial literacy programs for remittance senders and recipients, said Leon Isaacs, Director of Developing Markets Associates (DMA) Limited, at a seminar on the results of the education program at the Central Bank of Armenia, Thursday. The program was implemented in Armenia by DMA to upgrade the public confidence in banks.
Sarah Hugo, Project Manager, Developing Markets Associates (DMA), in turn, said that the program involved 24,000 Armenians who received financial consultations free of charge. Thanks to the program, Armenian banks have new customers with good level of financial literacy. Part of them (20%) preferred depositing their savings with banks. Sarah Hugo said that most of the participants in the program (74%) said they regularly received financial aid (money remittances) from abroad, particularly, from Russia. Many of them live on the money transfers from abroad.
For his part, Head of EBRD Office in Yerevan Mark Davis said that most of the Armenian citizens receive money remittances from abroad but few of them have deposits with banks. Meanwhile, financial literacy of these citizens will be beneficial for both the citizens and the economy of the country, he said. Armenak Darbinyan, a member of the Central Bank Council, welcomed EBRD's initiative saying that financial literacy of the population is one of the efficient tools to improve their welfare. He recalled that the Central Bank developed a national strategy of financial education for the citizens to involve more people in the country's financial sector.
He brought some indicators that show the level of financial literacy of the Armenian citizens. In particular, the share of the citizens planning their family (private) budgets in Armenia was some 14% in 2012. The Bank forecasts a growth of this indicator to 30% in 2019 and 50% in 2024.
EBRD implemented similar programs also in some other countries with transitional economy, including in Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Kyrghyzstan, and Azerbaijan. Nearly 145,000 people received financial consultations free of charge, with 23,000 of them opening deposits with banks. The amount of new deposits totaled $26 million.
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