ArmInfo. Ameriabank in 2019 expects high lending growth rates for SMEs. Answering the question of ArmInfo, during the plenary sessions dedicated to the development of SMEs in Armenia, Director of Ameribank Bank Arman Barseghyan said this.
He explained that next year, after the elections, the bank will work in a stable political environment that will create good prerequisites for investment activity and new business initiatives. However, by According to him, positive trends are already being felt today, particular real estate market.
Speaking about the sharp decline in the annual growth rate of lending by Ameriabank to the SME sector (from 21% as of October 1, 2017 to 8% as of October 1, 2018 - Ed.), The director of retail banking said: "In 2016, the market was very active, account was associated with a slowdown in economic growth in 2014- 2015. With weak GDP growth, pent-up demand was formed, which the business actively replenished in 2016. In particular, Ameriabank's SME portfolio increased by 60%. In 2017 and 2018, the situation changed. that the business has satisfied its financial expenses Unfortunately, new businesses, unfortunately, are still not actively being created. Therefore, we associate high expectations with 2019 ".
Along with this, he recalled that thanks to the introduction of a scoring system for issuing consumer loans, it was possible to exceed the figures provided by the business plan by 5 times. "We managed to place $ 30 million in 10 months, which is a serious contribution to the country's economy. We hope that our new scoring system for SMEs will also be in high demand," he concluded.
According to the Financial Rating of Banks of Armenia, as of October 1, 2018, prepared by ArmInfo IC, 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 banks in this area. In annual terms, the Bank increased its SME lending portfolio by 8.1%.
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%.