YEREVAN, March 7. /ARKA/. Armenian Anelik Bank was one of the first in Armenia to sign a cooperation agreement as part of a government-designed program to make higher education accessible to young Armenians, the bank said in a press release.

The loans will be issued in Armenia’s national currency, the dram, under the guarantee of students' parents or guardians, for up to 10 years. In the first four years the students will pay back only the interest and the rest of the amount after graduation along with the remaining interest.

The largest amount of a loan amount for the whole period of study is 1.8 million drams, which is divided into four equal parts, not exceeding 450 thousand drams, depending on the size of tuition fees. Loans will be provided at the rate of 12%, of which 2% is subsidized by the government.

"In one of his recent speeches the president of the country said education loans must become available to as many young people as possible. This in view and after comparing the resources of the Bank, the risks and opportunities of the government-designed program, we decided to join the program and make the process more available as soon as possible "Anelik bank chairman, Samvel Chzmachyan., is quoted as saying.

According to him, students with excellent academic achievements may have a one percent discount.
Anelik Bank was established in 1990. It is owned by Lebanese CreditBank (89.95%) and Samvel Chzmachyan (10.05%). ($ 1 - 410.58 drams). -0-