YEREVAN, January 30. / ARKA /. Armenia’s financial ombudswoman, Piruz Sargsyan, said today  ACBA -CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK  and VTB Bank (Armenia)  were the agency’s best bank partners last year.

Speaking at a news conference she said ROSGOSSTRAKH -ARMENIA and Nairi Insurance were its best insurance company partners.

She said a variety of criteria were used to choose the agency’s best partner organizations. Those criteria include the quality of cooperation with organizations in addressing complaints, the proportion of decisions reached through reconciliation and other indicators.

"We also have the right to publish the names of the worst organizations, however, even the worst ones cooperate with us and the bulk of problems are caused mainly by technical issues," she said.

Armenia was the first former Soviet republic to establish the Office of Financial Ombudsman in 2009. It is aimed at protecting the rights and interests of bank customers by offering prompt, effective and free review of their complaints. Another mission is to increase public confidence in the financial system. -0-