YEREVAN, November 19. /АРКА/. Armenian Finance Minister Tigran Davtyan thinks mortgage lending in the country will make a rally soon. Speaking in National Assembly on Wednesday, he said that mortgage landing is among the government’s top-priority focuses now.

“Unfortunately, mortgage lending stalled and even ceased amid the crisis,” he said. “However, the banking system is gradually bringing its activities, including mortgage lending, back to pre-crisis regime.”

The minister said that the newly established mortgage fund would help the mortgage market come out of its temporary sluggishness. He said that large funds would be used along with the baking system’s resources to spur the market.

Davtyan said that the government is doing whatever necessary to implement a youth mortgage lending program.

He said that eligibility criteria are being specified now for this program’s beneficiaries.

This work, he said, will take a few months. Creditors of this program are already known and the concept is ready and is waiting for final specification.

Several billions of drams will be earmarked for the start of the program. Concrete criteria will be set to make this money utilization optimal. The minister added that this program wouldn’t solve the problem of demand for mortgage loans completely.

This program that targets young families is to be launched in 2010. Some 300 young families are estimated to be able to borrow AMD 10 million each under this program. ($1 = AMD 387.41). ---0---