Converse Bank- Nelly Kocharyan: The exit of major foreign banks from  Armenia poses a new challenge for the country`s banking sector, as it  grapples with the issue of de-risking

ArmInfo.Nelly Kocharyan, the Head of the Department of Financial Institutions and International  Banking Relations of Converse Bank, highlighted the impact of  large  foreign banks exiting  Armenia on the country's banking sector.

This  include challenges such as limited international transfers and trade  finance opportunities, as well as the complexities in servicing  foreign trade transactions with other countries.  She shared these  insights at the 48th International Banking Forum, speaking as a  panelist in the  discussion on "Correspondent Banking Relations -  Combating De-Risking.  Prospects for International Trade and Trade  Finance".  In this context, she noted that Converse Bank is already  developing ways to contain potential risks: "We expect support from  international financial institutions, assistance from major players,  including consulting services."

Other forum participants also shared their experiences in the field  of risk management during the panel discussion, after which an  exchange of opinions took place.  The Banking Association for Central  and Eastern Europe was the initiator of the 48th International  Banking Forum. Participants from countries such as Germany, Poland,  Armenia, Italy, Ukraine, Great Britain, and other countries in  Central and Eastern Europe were represented at the forum.

It should be noted that the term <de-risking> is increasingly  appearing on the agenda of the global financial community and FATF.  De-risking refers to a situation when banks unreasonably terminate or  limit business relations with individual clients, categories of  consumers and (or) entire countries in order to avoid the risks of  involvement in dubious schemes. FATF (Financial Action Task Force on  Money Laundering) is an intergovernmental organization that develops  global standards in the field of combating money laundering and  terrorist financing (AML/CFT), and also assesses the compliance of  national AML/CFT systems with these standards.