YEREVAN, March 1, /ARKA/. Armenian Ameriabank offers a new time deposit offer for individuals, gold-linked structured deposits, Ruben Gevorkian, head of the bank’s unit investment fund, told ARKA in an interview. He said the new deposit creates unparalleled opportunities to gain revenues on the international markets when the gold prices go up, i.e. when return on gold is positive. He said the minimum deposit amount is 10,000 US dollars with a minimum term of 2 years.

‘As a matter of fact, it is equivalent to the investments in gold for the term of the deposit, but the new product has an essential difference in terms of its safety ensuring capital protection irrespective of gold price movements, including drop in prices,’ he explained. He said the gold-linked structured deposits open a gateway to international markets creating a unique opportunity to earn without any exposure to loss of the invested amount and the fixed income. In

addition to it, the new deposit ensures a small fixed 0.01% annual income on the deposit.

Ruben Gevorkian said this type of investment is more practical than simply buying gold because the client does not actually buy it and does not have to keep it. This also allows the bank to attract additional funds to help boost domestic economy. He said the bank has designed a products development concept, including structural deposits. In his words, the bank will expand the list of assets-linked deposits, as well as the type of currencies and terms of the deposits, which are going to become more and more attractive.

Ruben Gevorkian said the bank may try to extend gold-link deposits to corporate clients. He said Ameriabank had conducted a special study of the market that showed that this product has a bigger demand with individual clients. Nonetheless he said, the new product may interest also corporate clients and then the bank will revise the terms.

Ameriabank is owned by TDA Holding, an affiliation of a large Russian investment company Troika Dialog. -0-