Mediamax Agency, Armenia
Feb 23 2007

`Ararat bank’ presented the `Mashtots’ branch – the specialized
office of Western Union

Yerevan, February 23 /Mediamax/. The presentation of the new
`Mashtots’ branch of `Ararat Bank’, which is the specialized office
of the international Western Union money transfer system, took place
in Yerevan today.

Mediamax reports that the Executive Director of `Ararat Bank’ Ashot
Osipian informed that the new branch is established jointly with
Western Union and it will be providing services of money transfers of
the given international system.

The branch will also be serving municipal payments, small credits and
deposits.

During the first 10 days of the work, the branch registers about 20
operations daily by the Western Union system, the first task is to
increase the given index up to 50 and then gradually to switch to
round-the-clock work routine.

According to the Head of the Western Union on Business in Armenia,
Georgia, and Ukraine Mikhail Babirenko, Western Union has been
working in Armenia for about 10 years.

`We try to work with such notable partners as `Ararat Bank’ and we
are going to develop our net through specialized offices as well’, he
noted.

Mikhail Babirenko noted that the `Mashtots’ branch is the first
specialized office of Western Union not only in Armenia, but in the
whole South Caucasus region.

According to the assessment of the Chairman of the Armenian Central
Bank Tigran Sarkisian, the launching of the specialized office is an
evidence of the increase of segmentation of financial services in
Armenia, which will lead to the growth of competition and
establishment of more auspicious conditions for the customers.