YEREVAN, January 26. /ARKA/. A building that houses Hayastan shopping center in Yerevan became the property of Ameriabank after the company running the center failed to pay back a loan it had received from the bank.

In a press release Ameriabank provides explanations concerning a string of stories in Armenian media about the conflict between the bank and the company, saying that the building located at 2, G. Kochar street in central Yerevan became its property legally because the company failed to pay an outstanding debt.

The bank disseminated a duplicate of the certificate of property rights, which says that this building became the property Ameriabank on December 16, 2011. Ameriabank sent a month notice to Hayastan company asking IT to free the building in a month, but that was not done.

"The bank is currently taking steps to free the shopping center from illegal possession. These measures will in no way affect the persons engaged in retail trade in its territory, who were asked to renew their lease contracts, the press release says.

Ameriabank is a universal bank that provides investment, corporate and retail banking services in an integrated package of banking solutions. It is fully owned by Troika Dialog, one of the largest private investment companies in Russia.-0-