ECLOF-ISSUED CREDITING AMD 880 MLN

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Aug 28 2007

YEREVAN, August 28. /ARKA/. The volume of crediting by the Ecumenical
Church Loan Fund (ECLOF) in Armenia is currently AMD 880mln (about
$2.6mln),Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Tigran Sargsyan
stated in his interview to the Public Television of Armenia.

"Thousands of families have received credits from ECLOF. Over 1,500
credit portfolios have been formed," Sargsyan said.

He pointed out the necessity for doubling crediting in a short period.

A 5-day ECLOF conference of national committees of countries of Europe,
Asia and the Pacific region was opened in Tsakhkadzor on Sunday.

The Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF) is a non-profit ecumenical
organization. It was incorporated in 1946 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Initially, ECLOF granted loans to rebuild churches in central and
Western Europe after World War 2.

At present, ECLOF has 34 National Committees with its secretariat
in Geneva. The Fund has allocated funds for implementing programs of
micro financing. The Fund finances about 500,000 people, considering
that its mechanism of reducing poverty is rather effective.

The Fund’s office was established in Armenia in 1999 on the initiative
and by the invitation of the Armenian Apostolic Church and cooperation
with other churches, the World Council of Churches, UNDP, UMCOR,
French organization AFDI, Izmirlyan Fund, Armenian-American joint
enterprise Alfa Plus Consulting, Mission Armenia NGO. The organization
had conducted activities in nine regions of Armenia by 2007.