ArmInfo. Around 30% of pension savings of defined pension system funds are maintained on bank deposits and these funds are used for financing Armenia's real sector, Karen Hakobyan, Head of the Securities Market Management Department of the Central Bank of Armenia, said to ArmInfo's correspondent talking about the influence of the defined pension system on the country's banking system. "I can positively assess the influence of the pension reform", he noted.
According to him, due to this reform additional funds are created for the development of the country's economy. "Consequently, this can not but make a positive impact on the banking sector, and the economy in a whole", he noted adding that the share of assets of defined pension system in Armenian GDP made up 0.7% as of February 29, 2016 and this indicator will demonstrate further upward trend.
"These are real internal savings of the country, moreover these are long-term funds. And in any country it is the main driving force for economy development", he summarized.
To recall, the compulsory defined pension system was introduced in Armenia on 1 Jan 2014. The compulsory contributions (5% of wages but no more than 25,000 AMD) are automatically made by the citizens born after 1 Jan 1974. The state's co-funding is also 5%. The pension fund managers are two large European companies - Amundi-ACBA-Asset-Management CJSC (registered by Central Bank on 19 November 2014 subsidiary of Societe Generale -20% and Credit Agricole-80%) and "C-QUADRAT Ampega Asset Management Armenia" (registered by the Central Bank on 29 November 2014 as a joint enterprise of German Talanx Asset Management 74.9% and Austrian C-QUADRAT Investment). The pension account operators are HayPost, ARARATBANK, Ardshinbank, HSBC Bank Armenia, Armbusinessbank, VTB Bank (Armenia), Converse Bank and INECOBANK.