YEREVAN, April 18. /ARKA/. Anelik bank said the amount of remittances handled by its Anelik money transfer system surged by 21 percent in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier to $200 million.

According to a press release, the amount of remittances in Russian rubles during the reporting period of time saw a 220% rise. The number of transfers through Anelik system increased over the same period of last year by 92%, reaching nearly 0.5 million.

According to Arman Shushyan, head of Anelik Bank department in charge of transactions and correspondent relationships, compared to pre-crisis 2008 the number of transfers as a whole increased by 62%.

"This growth is due TO an increase in the amount of money transfers in rubles, competitive low rates for transactions, as well as the speed of transfers through Anelik system operating in nearly 100 countries around the world," - he said.

Anelik bank was created in 1990. Its major shareholder is Lebanese CreditBank SALs which owns 69.5%. In 1997 Anelik bank created its own payment and settlement system Anelik. ($1 - 392.55 drams). -0-