YEREVAN, April 28. /ARKA/. Armenian banks lowered their lending interests by 2-3 percent in 2010, Ashot Osipyan, chairman of the Union of Banks of Armenia, said on Thursday.

“I see downward trend,” he said.

He told journalists that competition is tough in Armenia’s banking system.

According to the regulator’s figures, interest rate on long-term loans in drams for individuals averaged 18.7% in after rising 0.1 percentage point in January, compared with the previous month, and interest rate on loans in foreign currencies rose 0.7 point to 16.9%.

Interest rate on long-term loans in drams for legal entities was lowered 0.7 point to 13.6%, and that on foreign currencies rose 0.3 point to 12.7%. -0-