11 ARMENIAN BANKS ACQUIRE 11% STAKE IN ARCA

ARMENPRESS
Aug 30 2006

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS: Eleven Armenian commercial banks have
acquired 50.1 percent of shares of ARCA Credit Reporting company. The
deal came as a follow-up of protracted talks with the Union of
Armenian Banks.

Earlier two Armenian banks- Converse and Armeconombank- had bought
each 1 percent of shares of ARCA Credit Reporting. Now more than 52
percent of ARCA’s stake belong to Armenian banks.

Presently 14 out of 21 commercial banks in Armenia which hold in total
76 percent of all bank assets and 75 percent of all bank credits,
own shares in ARCA or are its members. Another 7 big credit and 2
micro-financing organizations are members of ARCA.

Armenia’s Central Bank is expected to acquire shares in ARCA.

ARCA credit bureau was established in 2004 by a US-based Credential
Inc. and an international Dan and Bradstreet companies.