YEREVAN, October 7. / ARKA /. Head of the Union of Armenian Banks, Samvel Chzmachyan, has praised today the government and the Central Bank for helping local banks to tackle with a string of problems brought about by the 2009 economic and financial crisis.

Chzmachyan said in 2008-2012 Armenian banks managed to restructure a significant portion of bad loans, which was instrumental for ensuring sustainable development.

"I am deeply convinced that in the coming years we will have a period of recovery and a significant growth in the banking system,” he stressed.

In his words, the drop in return on assets (RoA) and return on equity (RoE) indicators witnessed over the last years was temporary.

"The fact is that Armenian banks were forced to freeze part of their delinquent loans following legal proceedings in order to be able to recover damage through the sale of collateral. Part of the loans was restructured. I am convinced that these issues will be resolved soon," he concluded.

According to the Central Bank, the average ROA of Armenian banks in the second quarter of 2013 rose to 1.62 % from 1.39 % in the first quarter of 2013. It was 1.71 % in the second quarter of 2012.

The ROE indicator in the second quarter of 2013 amounted to 9.91 % from 8.36 % in the first quarter. It was 9. 42 % in the second quarter of 2012 . -0-