YEREVAN, September 19. / ARKA /. Investments of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Armenia in 2014 will amount to about $ 00 million, the outgoing head of EBRD Yerevan Office, Valeriu Razlog, told a news conference today.

"We usually invest annually about $100 million in implementation of our programs here. In 2014 we will invest approximately as much ," he said, adding that the Bank will start here also new projects in addition to ongoing ones.

Mr. Razlog noted that the quality of the investment portfolio of the Bank in Armenia is quite high, and the share of problem loans does not exceed 5%. He said about 90 % of investments were made to support the private sector and half of them went to the financial sector.

He praised the banking sector of Armenia and expressed satisfaction with the progress and reforms implemented in this area. He also recalled that the EBRD cooperates with 12 Armenian banks , a microfinance institution and one credit institution.

The EBRD has been working in Armenia since the country gained independence in 1991. Its focus is on helping to diversify the economy by supporting investment in various sectors, as well as supporting the development of the financial sector and small and medium-sized enterprises. To date, the Bank has invested more than EUR 656 million across 120 projects in the country. -