ArmInfo. In the banking sector of Armenia, interest rates have gone up since August 2021, but so far the prices for loans are more noticeable than deposits, which increased the margin of active-passive operations to 5.5-6% from 4.5-5% a year earlier.
According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, in August of this year, an increase in interest rates was observed both on loans - up to 10.82% on average (from 9.84% in August 2020), and on deposits - up to 4.8% on average (from 4 .72% in August 2020), while in July the rise in the cost of loans from 9.25% to 10.19% was accompanied by a decrease in the cost of deposits from 4.66% to 4.58%. In January-August of this year the average interest rate on loans was 10.2%, exceeding the level of a year ago (9.94%), but yielding to the pre-covid 10.44% (January-August 2019). At the same time, the average interest rate on deposits in January-August this year was amounted to 4.74%, slightly falling short of last year's 4.8% (January-August 2020), and more noticeably yielding to the pre-covid 5.28% (January-August 2019). It is noteworthy that the yield on government bonds began to show signs of growth a little earlier - already in June, rising by 1 percentage point every month, reaching the level of 8.95% in August, in particular, for medium term government bonds - 8.29% and short term government bonds- 9,6%. In January-August of this year, the average yield on government bonds was 7.82%, after falling from 13.40% in 2015 to 6.23% in 2020. In particular, the average yield on short-term government bonds in January-August 2021 amounted to 7.08%, on medium-term - 8.55%, on long-term ones - 9.82%, after a decrease, respectively, from 12,52%, 14.48%, 16.12% in 2015 to 5.70%, 6.85%, 8.62% in 2020.
Thus, interest rates on loans and deposits, after a decrease over the past six years, from August this year outlined an upward movement, from this month on, they began to adequately respond to the refinancing rate repeatedly raised by the Central Bank - this year five times - from December 5.25% to the current 7.25%. To note, in January-August 2015 the average interest rate on loans was 14.37%, and in August alone- 15.16%, and on deposits - 9.43% in January-August and 9.51% in August, before that showing volatile movement every year. For the entire 2015, the average interest rate on loans was 14.31%, and on deposits - 9.51%, having decreased by 2021 to 9.97% and 4.77%, respectively.
