17:04, 3 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. In 2020 Armenia’s financial system operated under unprecedented shocks and high uncertainty because of the pandemic and the war, President of the Central Bank Martin Galstyan said during a press conference today dedicating to the release of the 2020 Financial Stability Report.

“It was quite a difficult year for the financial system, but in honor of the system I want to note that it ensured the uninterrupted course of the financial intermediation, keeping the capacity of absorbing risks. In other words the system was capitalized and liquid, we in turn have implemented certain assistance programs as a result of which we passed 2020 normally, although the year was very difficult”, he said.

The CBA President stated that the economy has been negatively affected by the pandemic and the martial law since March 2020.

“The demonstrated shocks created major challenges also for the financial system, and as a result the Central Bank, in fact, pursued a goal to ensure financial intermediation or stability envisaged by the Constitution, which is being carried out by the continuity of financial intermediation”, the CBA chief said.

From this perspective, he said, they have tried to solve two group problems – the first one relating to growing loan risk in banks, and the second one relating to the pressures of banks’ liquidity.

“For solving the first problem we have launched anti-cycle measures for assisting the financial system, and for the second problem we have injected some liquidity”, he said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan