By 2019, banking system assets of Armenia crossed mark of $ 10  billion

ArmInfo.The banking system assets of Armenia accelerated growth in 2018, to 14% from 6.4% in 2017, reaching 4.964 trillion drams ($ 10.3 billion). According to  the Express Ranking of Armenian banks prepared by ArmInfo, in their  structure, credit investments and other loans crossed the mark of 3  trillion drams ($ 6.3 billion), with the acceleration of y-o-y growth  from 4% in 2017 to 19.2% in 2018.

In assets, the share of credit investments and other loans reached  62%, investments in securities - 12.5%, and nostro accounts and  interbank investments - 21.2%, against 60.4%, 12.8% and 20.4,  respectively.20,4 % a year earlier.

Bank investments in securities rose by 201% in 2018, to 619.3 billion  drams ($ 1.3 billion), against a 22.3% increase in 2017. Nostro  accounts and interbank investments grew by 24% in 2018 - to 1.1  trillion drams ($ 2.2 billion).

Ameriabank, Ardshinbank, Armbusinessbank, ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank  and INECOBANK, which account for 55.3% of total assets of the banking  market (against a similar share a year earlier and 53.6% in 2016),  were fixed in the TOP-5 by assets 42% is concentrated in the top  three. The same banks are leading in the same order of credit  investments, covering over 61% of the total market volume, and again  with a dominant position among the top three - over 47%.

Armswissbank retains primacy in investments in securities, while  Ameriabank and Ardshinbank consolidated in second and third  positions, and TOP-3 accounts for 39% of total investments in  securities, with 22% covering the leader.

The comparatively restrained dynamics of highly liquid assets, while  accelerating the growth rates of total assets and liabilities on  demand, pushed the levels of total and current liquidity to a  decrease. In particular, the overall liquidity level on average in  the market decreased from 35.99% in 2017 to 32.47% (with a statutory  required minimum of 15%), and current liquidity - from 222.42% in  2017 to 183.09% (with min required 60%).

The interest incomes of the banking system, the lion's share of which  is formed from loans, slowed growth in 2018 to 4.2% from 12.3% in  2017, reaching 378 billion drams ($ 781.4 million). Non-interest  incomes also slowed down growth in 2018 to 13.6% from 29.5% in 2017,  reaching 89.5 billion drams ($ 185 million). 

At the same time, interest expenses decreased in 2018 by 2%, against  8.7% growth in 2017, amounting to 197.2 billion drams ($ 407.6  million), while non-interest expenses remained high, slowing down  from 14% to 9.2%, making up 145.9 billion drams ($ 301.7 million). As  a result, total revenues slowed down the y-o- y growth from 6.1% to  4.5%, while the dynamics of total expenses worsened - from a rising  5.3% to a downward 3.9%, against the background of which balance  profit showed an acceleration of growth to 81,9% in 2018 from 14.1%  in 2017 But only for the Q4 of 2018, balance sheet profit recorded a  decline of 10%, which is similar to the dynamics of the same period  of the previous year - a decline of 15% with almost the same decline  in total income and expenses (6.8% and 5.9% respectively), which  indicates the continuation of write-offs of toxic loans from the  balance.  To note, from 2017 to this day, 17 banks are operating in  Armenia.