YEREVAN, December 23./ARKA/. HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc was declared to be Bank of the Year in Armenia for 2009, at The Banker magazine’s Bank of The Year Awards in London on December 4 2009, the press-service of the bank reported to ARKA News Agency on Tuesday.

According to the report, the criteria for choosing the winners included banks’ financial performance, innovation, new initiatives and general strategy over the previous year.

Among the bank’s achievements which have been considered by The Banker were the 16.9 per cent rise in assets in 2008 and the bank’s focus on providing outstanding customer service.

“The bank continued its investments in technology and infrastructure and introduced internet and telephone banking services to Armenia. HSBC Bank Armenia now offers a full direct banking proposition and a choice of branch, ATM, telephone and internet banking for its customers,” the Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank Armenia said.
“The world’s local bank continues to work on the concept of 'your branch that never closes' for customers living in Armenia and elsewhere in the world”, the press-release stated.

HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc was the first international bank to open in Armenia in 1996.
The bank is a joint venture between the HSBC Group, which has 70 percent ownership, and members of overseas Armenian businesses.

The bank offers a wide range of products and services to individual as well as corporate customers, including personal financial services, commercial banking and treasury and capital markets services. HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc is one of the leading banks in the foreign exchange market.

The bank is uniquely positioned to provide truly international services for its customers. It has 9 branches and offices in Yerevan, as well as 48 ATMs located throughout the city.

The Bank is continuously introducing innovative technologies and first-on-market solutions to achieve top customer service and increase the efficiency of operations.
HSBC has launched telephone banking services and will launch internet banking services by mid 2009, which will take customer service to a new level.

HSBC customers are to have a choice of branch, ATM, telephone and internet banking in the near future.

As a socially responsible organization HSBC Bank Armenia continually invests into sustainability projects focusing on education for underprivileged groups and environment.

HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London.

The Group serves customers worldwide from around 8,500 offices in 86 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa.

With assets of US$2,422 billion at 30 June 2009, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations. –0-