ArmInfo.In Q1 2021, deposits in the banking system of Armenia decreased by 0.2%, but increased by 4.9% or by 173 billion drams on a y-o-y basis, amounting to 3.7 trillion drams. Executive Director of the Union of Banks of Armenia (UBA) Seyran Sargsyan announced this on May 19 at a press conference. At the same time, he noted that the growth was noted in the deposits of residents - by 4.4% over the quarter and by 9.9% over the year. At the same time, deposits of non-residents showed a decrease both in the first quarter by 12.2% and in annual terms by 8.2%.
The head of the UBA explained that the decline in deposits of the banking system of Armenia began to be observed for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic, but recovery began in May - the indicators exceeded the volumes recorded at the beginning of the year. The peak, according to Sargsyan, was in August, however, with the outbreak of hostilities, there was another outflow of funds, the restoration of which took place in December.
"It is important to note that this is observed in all developing countries, where non-resident funds invested in banks of foreign countries returned to their countries," he added. At the same time, Sargsyan noted that the gap between foreign currency and dram deposits in the deposit portfolio narrowed, reaching 54% and 46%, respectively, at the end of 2020, with the continuation of this trend in Q1 2021 - to 53% and 47% .
