ARMENIAN "AMERIABANK" PLANS TO RELEASE BONDS FOR CORPORATE CLIENTS IN AMOUNT OF COUPLE OF BILLION DRAMS BY END OF YEAR
ARKA
July 24, 2009
YEREVAN, July 24. /ARKA/. Armenian "Ameriabank" is planning to release
bonds for corporate clients in the amount of couple of billion drams
by the end of the year, the director of the Development department,
Tigran Jrbashyan, told the journalists.
"We are trying to put into work hedging mechanisms and think that
the capital market will be more active by the end of the year. The
bank is conducting preparatory works towards promoting the market
and we will be able to release those bonds by October or November,"
Jrbashyan informed.
The director of the Development department said that the profit that
can be derived from those bonds depends on the development of the
market since it is forecasted that there will be a decline in the
interest rate connected to Armenia’s Central Bank’s decrease of the
refinancing rates.
Jrbashyan noted, "It is hard to predict what kind of an influence
the interest rates will have and by how much the interest rates are
going to decrease but it will be easier to forecast the situation by
the end of September.
Overall, we are expecting a tendency in the form of a decline of the
interest rates." He informed that Ameriabank will bring up mechanisms,
which will give the investors the opportunity to=2 0invest in Armenia’s
bond market and will demonstrate certain hedging mechanisms related
to the exchange rate risks. According to the bank representative,
the following service will be in great demand.
"I think that the regulator will also bring in refinements in the
law field, which will expand the bond market," Jrbashyan said.
The Ameriabank CJSC (former Armimpexeconombank, renamed last May)
was founded in July 1992 using the facilities of the Armenian branch
of the USSR Vnesheconombank. On September 8, 1992, the Central Bank of
Armenia (CBA) issued a banking license to Ameriabank. In August 2007,
TDA Holdings Limited, affiliate of the Troika Dialog investment and
banking group (Russia), purchased the bank’s shares. On November 3rd,
2008 JSC "Armenian Stock Exchange" awarded JSC "Ameriabank" the status
of market maker of the bonds of IMEKS Group.
As of June 30, 2009, Ameriabank’s assets reached 86.2bln AMD,
liabilities 65.4bln AMD, total capital 20.7bln AMD, authorized capital
18.2bln AMD (first largest authorized capital in the Armenian banking
system), credit investments totaled 31.6.2bln AMD, liabilities to
clients 60.4bln AMD and net profit (January-June 2009) 554.9mln AMD.
The bank has one branch in Armenia.