ArmInfo.There are currently no reasons for concern regarding the growth of consumer lending in Armenia. Deputy Governor at Central Bank of Armenia Armen Nurbekyan said, answering questions during a panel session at the economic forum organized by Amundi-ACBA Asset Management, the pension fund management company.
"But we see that the potential for growth in consumer lending has accumulated," he noted. According to the Central Bank Deputy Governor, this is due to the fact that the income of the population has also increased. In addition, he noted that the easing of monetary policy by the Regulator and the reduction of interest rates also contributed to the growth of consumer loans. At the same time, Nurbekyan considers such growth quite healthy.
He also drew attention to the fact that mortgage loans have reached the volume of consumer loans, exceeding 1 trillion drams "This is the first time we have such commensurate portfolios," he said. Nurbekyan noted that after 2020, stagnation was observed in the field of consumer lending. there has been an increase in the past year alone. "And we pay special attention to this in the context of monetary policy," he concluded.
According to the Financial Rating of Armenian Banks as of September 30, 2023, prepared by ArmInfo IC, the volume of consumer loans exceeded 2.2 trillion drams ($5.7 billion), of which more than 40% (about 900 billion drams) is covered by the TOP-3 banks- Ameriabank, Ardshinbank and Acba Bank. The portfolio of consumer loans increased by 30.4% on a y-o-y terms, and the growth was 19.6%in just 9 months of 2023. It should be noted that the volume of overdue loans in the portfolio of consumer loans exceeds 143 billion drams ($363 million, with a y-o-y growth of 11%), of which 62% are classified as doubtful and hopeless ones, with the latter significantly dominating and continuing to grow in volume at a double-digit pace. The share of toxic loans in the total volume of overdue loans accumulated in consumer loans exceeded 42%.
Meanwhile, according to the Financial Rating of banks and credit companies in Armenia as of September 30, 2023, prepared by ArmInfo IC, mortgage lending in Armenia accelerated the y-o-y growth rate from 20.5% to 24.8%, ensuring a volume of 1.3 trillion drams ($3.2 billion). This is the total volume of mortgage lending from all 18 banks and three mortgage companies - the National Mortgage Company, Affordable Housing for Young Families and the First Mortgage Company, but the dynamics of the previous year also takes into account the Artsakh mortgage company Fidesz, whose activities after the September events of 2023 suspended.
At the same time, the bank's mortgage portfolio slowed down its y-o-y growth from 31.5% to 28.8%, amounting to 1.02 trillion drams ($2.6 billion). Among the banks, the TOP-3 continues to be headed by Ameriabank, the second place is held by Ardshinbank, and AMIO Bank (formerly Armbusinessbank) has moved to the third place, the total coverage of which exceeds 45% of the bank's mortgage portfolio or 36% of the total mortgage portfolio (including National Mortgage Company, Affordable Housing for Young Families and the First Mortgage Company).
