ArmInfo. Converse Bank, responding to the latest changes in the Tax Code, decided to proceed with the implementation of the state program on amnesty of accumulated fines and penalties on overdue loans to individuals. As the press service of the Bank explained, the matter concerns the loans classified by May 31, 2018 as non-performing with a delay of 271 days or more. The condition put forward by the Bank to the borrower is the repayment of the loan principal and payment of the accrued interest.
Converse Bank declares its willingness to refinance these loans with a maturity of up to 7 years, taking into account the amount of liabilities, cash flows, their seasonality, and the proposed collateral. "We expect that borrowers who properly fulfill credit obligations under the new agreed schedule will restore their credit history and will be able to more broadly cooperate with the Bank with the opportunity to use new products," the Bank statement reads.
In order to involve in the amnesty program of accrued fines and penalties, borrowers of bad loans should apply to any branch of Converse Bank before the end of 2018 to discuss and agree on a new repayment schedule for the principal amount of the loan and payments of interest accrued. According to the statement of Converse Bank despite the latest changes in the Tax Code of Armenia on loans to individuals, a program for restructuring the overdue loan obligations of legal entities and private entrepreneurs is being developed. In particular, the matter concerns credit obligations classified as bad with a contractual amount of up to 20 million drams.
To recall, on July 2 the Prime Minister met with bankers to find the practical solution of the issue of concessions of fines and penalties on problem loans. On the same day, ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank and Ameriabank announced the abolition of fines and penalties for bad loans to individuals, then IDBank (July 4) and Ardshinbank (July 6) and Converse Bank (July 11) announced the accession to this process.
According to the Financial Rating of the Armenian Banks prepared by ArmInfo, as of March 31 2018, Converse Bank is in the TOP-5 by the volume of retail loans - 73.8 billion drams ($ 153.8 million), providing an annual growth of 34.4%. In the total loan portfolio of the Bank, the share of retail lending exceeds 45%, and in the total retail loans on the market, Converse Bank accounts for about 9%. By the mortgage portfolio, Converse Bank is included in TOP-3 - over 29 billion drams with an growth of 36.6% y-o-y. Converse Bank takes the 6th position in terms of consumer loans- 44.8 billion drams with y-o-y growth of 34.1%. In the total loan portfolio of the bank, consumer loans and mortgages accounted for 27.9% and 18.1%, respectively. The share of NPL in the total loan portfolio of Converse Bank is 4.5% with a significant annual growth in absolute value. In its report on classification of the loan portfolio by risk groups, Converse Bank only specifies standard loans, not-publishing the amount of risky loans, and therefore in the financial rating prepared by ArmInfo, the volume of overdue loans of the bank was calculated by deducting standard loans from the total volume of loans. According to the results of Q1 2018 the Bank had a profit of 1.01 billion drams ($ 2.1 million), ensuring 2,6-fold y-o-y growth. In the total income of the Bank, the share of the proceeds from lending is about 70%, with y-o-y growth of the absolute value by 21.7%.
To recall, Converse Bank has been operating in the Armenian market since September 1996. The Bank's shareholders are Advanced Global Investments LLc (headed by Eduardo Ernekian) - 80.94%, HayPost Trust Management B.V. - 14.06%, the Cathedral of the Mother See of Etchmiadzin - 5%. The Bank's branch network includes 34 branches, out of which 13 are located in Yerevan, 20 - in the regions of Armenia and 1 - in the NKR.
