Thursday, November 22 2018 00:10

ArmInfo. Ameriabnak introduced a scoring system for issuing business loans to SMEs. The director of Ameribank Bank on consumer lending and business banking Aram Baloyan said this during plenary sessions dedicated to the development of SMEs in Armenia.

According to him, previously such a system was used for individuals,  today it has become a reality for legal entities. Taking advantage of  the new service, SMEs can receive a loan in the amount of 1  million-10 million drams in a matter of minutes, at an interest rate  starting at 13.5% per annum, without fees for studying the  application and collateral.

"The automated scoring system of SME lending allows, on the basis of  information obtained from different sources, to decide on a loan in a  few minutes to issue a loan. To do this, visit the bank's website,  fill in the relevant application online, and in the same mode you can  sign a loan agreement Thus, communication with the bank is fully  transferred to the online platform, "he explained.

A. Baloyan noted that the need to introduce such a service was based  on the desire to ensure the availability of loans for SMEs,  especially microbusiness. "The overwhelming majority of SMEs still  prefer to work with cash without resorting to banking services. As a  result, the client has no credit history, on the basis of which trust  relationships with banks are established. At the same time, the Bank  places strict requirements on the borrower when making a loan, in  particular, in terms of documents, the level of bureaucracy is still  at a high level, "he explained.

According to the Financial Ratings of Banks of Armenia as of October  1, 2018, prepared by ArmInfo IC, Ameriabank continues to lead in  terms of its main financial indicators. The bank's assets amounted to  710.3 billion drams ($ 1.5 billion, first position) with an annual  growth of 6.4%, credit investments - 494 billion drams ($ 1.02  billion, first position) with an annual growth of 11.8%. In the loan  portfolio of the Bank, loans to the economy account for over 82% or  405.8 billion drams ($ 840.7 million, first position) with an annual  growth of 8.3%. Ameriabank's SME loan portfolio amounted to 87  billion drams ($ 180.2 million, 3rd position in the market) or 18% of  the total loan portfolio of the bank and over 12% of total  investments of banks in this sector. In annual terms, the Bank  increased its SME lending portfolio by 8.1%. The Bank completed 9  months of 2018 with a net profit of 8.1 billion drams ($ 16.7  million, 1st position), ensuring an annual growth of 49.8%.

Note that Ameriabank has been operating on the Armenian market since  October 31, 1996. The shareholders of Ameribank on October 1, 2018  are the Ameria Group CY Ltd. - 56.6%, EBRD - 17.8%, Asian Development  Bank - 13.98%, ESPS Holding Limited - 11.62%.