Pre-tax profit of HSBC Bank Armenia grew by 17% to $16.3 mln in 2008
2009-03-08 13:52:00
ArmInfo. In 2008 the pre-tax profit of HSBC Bank Armenia grew by 17% to
5 bln AMD ($16.3 mln), Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank Armenia Tim
Slater told journalists, Saturday.
He thinks that the year 2009 will be difficult for the banking system
of Armenia, however, HSBC Bank Armenia is quite ready to resist all
difficulties. At the same time, T.Slater expressed confidence that the
bank’s activity in 2009 will also profitable.
According to him, the year 2008 became for the bank a year of
large-scale investing in various projects. In particular, in 2008 the
bank opened 2 new branches in Yerevan, as well as a back-office
centralizing all the branches of the bank. $5 mln was spent on
implementation of the latter. In 2008 the provision of crediting of
HSBC Bank Armenia grew by 40% to 74 bln AMD. As of 31 December 2008,
the number of its employees amounted to 412, having increased by 21,5%.
He stressed that at the end of 2008 the bank received a credit line
worth $100 mln from its shareholders, this amount will be used only if
necessary. T.Slater said that HSBC Bank Armenia investments aim not
only to expand the branch network, but also introduce up-to-date
technologies. In particular, mobile banking is already operating, and
relevant work is being done to introduce internet banking. The bank is
also expanding the network of branches in Yerevan, at present it has 43
ATMs. The bank’s clients prefer carrying out banking operations not
only in the branches, but also via internet, over the telephone and via
ATMs, T.Slater said.
In 2008, HSBC Group ensured 19.9 bln AMD pre-tax profit, which is by
18% lower than in 2007. Nonetheless, this is quite a good result. Not
all the banks announced the results of their activities, but
there is confidence that summing up willconfirm the leading positions
of HSBC Group in profitability among the banking groups of the world.