MORTGAGE CREDITS EXTENDED BY ARMENIAN FINANCIAL SYSTEM – 92BLN DRAMS IN JAN-MAY

ARKA
June 23, 2009

YEREVAN, June 23. /ARKA/. Mortgage credits extended by Armenian
financial system was 92bln Drams or 13% of overall credit portfolio
at the end of May 2009, Vice-Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia
(CBA) Vache Gabrielyan said Monday at the annual meeting of the
country’s Union of mortgage market participants.

Mortgage market is a new and promising field of a great social
importance in the country, the Vice-Chairman said.

He also pointed out the necessity of clear procedures to meet the
growing market demand and the Union’s role in it.

Mortgage credits have kept growing on the Armenian market over the
last years, Gabrielyan said.

An average of 95% annual growth of mortgage credits extended by
Armenian banks was recorded over the last four years against 48%
increase in total portfolio of Armenian banks every year, he said.

Gabrielyan reported that total amount of mortgage credits allocated
by credit organizations of Armenia grew by an average of 190% every
year during the last four years.

The world financial and economic crisis has had impact on the country’s
financial market starting from the fourth quarter of 2008, he said.

Gabrielyan assured that the CBA, together with the government, takes
measures to smooth over the situation.

The share of mortgage credits in overall credit portfolio of Armenian20
banks was 13.03% in the first quarter of 2009. Mortgage credits
extended in the reporting period totaled 86.4bln Drams – an increase
of 3.3% or 2.7bln Drams as compared with the same period of last year.
($1=365.02Drams).