YEREVAN, July 15./ARKA/. HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc has been named Best Bank in Armenia at this year's EUROMONEY Awards for Excellence, the bank’s press office reported on Monday.

HSBC Group also received four global awards as well as twenty regional and country awards in different categories. The award ceremony took place in London on Thursday, 11 July.

EUROMONEY said, “HSBC trounced its larger rivals in Armenia, giving the sector’s best pre-tax and return on equity result. The corporate franchise remained the primary driver of expansion, but HSBC also gained ground in the valuable premium retail sector.”

These awards recognize institutions that demonstrate leadership in their markets, bringing to their customers the highest levels of services, innovation and expertise.

HSBC Group’s awards include Best Global Emerging Market Investment Bank, Best Global Emerging Market Debt House, Best Global Risk Adviser and Best Global Transaction Banking House.

Thies Clemenz, HSBC Bank Armenia Chief Executive Officer, said: “It is a great privilege to receive this award for the second time, which is testimony to another successful year of HSBC in Armenia. We are committed to supporting the growth of Armenia’s economy and banking sector by playing a leading role in this industry.”

HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc was the first international bank to open in Armenia in 1996. The bank is a joint venture between the HSBC Group, which has 70 percent ownership, and members of overseas Armenian businesses. The bank offers a wide range of products and services to individual as well as corporate customers, including personal financial services, commercial banking and treasury and capital markets services. Thanks to the HSBC network in over 80 countries and territories, the bank is uniquely positioned to provide truly international services to its customers.

The Yerevan office opened with 18 staff and under 100 clients. HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc today has more than 35 thousand individual and almost five thousand corporate customers and employs 376 employees at ten branches and offices in Yerevan. The bank has one of the largest networks of 55 ATMs located throughout Yerevan. HSBC in Armenia has grown assets from five million US dollars when it started to operate in 1996 to just 524 million US dollars today. ---0----