Tuesday, May 8 2012 20:16
Continued crisis phenomena in credit market of Armenia make Armenian banks less universal
ArmInfo. The continued crisis phenomena in the credit market of Armenia have made the Armenian banks less universal, says the Analysis of the Banking System of Armenia by the Agency of Rating Marketing Information (ArmInfo) on the basis of the balance indices as of the end of Q1 2012.
According to ArmInfo's methodology of the universality analysis, the first position that should belong to the so-called highly universal banks actively engaged in all directions is still vacant. In addition, the second position and the third position have also been vacant since Q4 2009 and Q4 2011 respectively. In Q1 2012 versus Q1 2011 8 banks experienced worsening in their positions, 5 banks experienced improvement, and the positions of 8 banks remained unchanged.
The Agency pays a special attention to the fact that since Q2 2009 the analysis of the banking system has been carried out with due regard for not only the banks' positions by their total capital, assets, total provision of crediting, lending to economy, investments in government securities, liabilities, borrowed funds, pre-tax profit, but also the banks' positions by their loro- and nostro-accounts, personal loans, call liabilities, time deposits, as well as the attracted and distributed interbank deposits and loans.
Ameriabank and HSBC Bank Armenia shared the fourth position as of the end of Q1 2012. ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank and VTB Bank (Armenia) shared the fifth position.
The sixth is Ardshininvestbank, the seventh place is vacant, the eighth are Armbusinessbank and Unibank, the ninth Areximbank-Gazprombank Group (up from the last year's eleventh), the tenth are Converse Bank and ARARATBANK, the eleventh INECOBANK, the twelfth Armeconombank and Artsakhbank, the thirteenth Anelik, the fourteenth ArmSwissbank and Byblos, the fifteenth place is vacant, the sixteenth is Prometey Bank, the seventeenth Armenian Development Bank and Mellat (due to curtailed inter-bank loan), the eighteenth ProCredit Bank, the nineteenth VTB Bank (Armenia).
The experts point out that this universality rating has nothing to do with the banks' reliability and stability and reflects only the scope of their activity.