Yerevan, Armenia, October 15, 2010
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping Armenia’s Ameriabank engage for the first time in international interest-rate and currency-swap transactions, which will strengthen the Armenian financial system by reducing currency and interest-rate risks.
IFC and Ameriabank today signed an International Swaps and Derivatives Association master agreement, the international standard for risk management transactions. Under the agreement, IFC will provide Ameriabank with U.S.-dollar interest-rate swaps and multiple-currency swaps. This will enable the bank to better manage its interest-rate risks on borrowed funds as well as currency risks for its euro deposit base, and allow it to provide a wider range of deposit products to customers.
“This transaction will help strengthen our risk-management capacity, which is particularly important in the post-crisis period,” said Artak Hanesyan, Ameriabank’s General Director and Management Board Chairman.
Thomas Lubeck, IFC Regional Head of the Caucasus, said, “This is our first swap agreement in Armenia and we are happy to be providing this high-level of financial technology. It will provide Ameriabank with important risk-management tool and improve the bank’s sustainability.”
Ameriabank became an IFC client in mid 2009, when the bank joined IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program. Building on the partnership, in December 2009, IFC provided Ameriabank with a $15 million senior loan for onlending to small hydropower plants that will boost renewable energy supply and decrease greenhouse-gas emissions in Armenia. IFC has supplemented the investment with advisory services to help the bank assess and review projects focusing on environmental and financial aspects.
Armenia became a member of IFC in 1995. Since then, IFC invested $87 million in 18 projects across a range of industries, including financial markets, general manufacturing, energy, mining, and chemicals. IFC Advisory Services focuses on developing the country’s the financial sector, sustainable energy, and regulatory simplification.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About Ameriabank
Ameriabank is one of the most dynamic banks in Armenia and ranks among the country’s most stable financial institutions. It is the first investment bank in Armenia, and since 2007 has been providing an extensive list of innovative banking products. It focuses mainly on corporate and investment banking. Ameriabank is owned by TDA Holdings Limited, an investment company affiliated with Troika Dialog, a leading Russian investment banking group. For more information, visit
www.ameriabank.am
.
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