YEREVAN, June 5. / ARKA /. No Armenian bank will shut down in the next 2-3 years, Samvel Chzmachyan, chairman of the Union of Banks of Armenia, said today. He said the banks’ liquidity level is quite high and although many of them have some problems because of bad loans that will not lead to their closure.

According to him, 99 percent of the total lending is secured by good collateral which banks can sell at any time at a price that will not affect their liquidity.

He said also that in accordance with the Basel Principles requirements for the banks have got stricter, but despite this they still show a positive trend.

"I do not think that the crisis in the world and Armenia is over, but there are many countries with better developed economies, which are in a worse position,” said Chzmachyan.

There are 21 commercial banks in Armenia whose combined assets in the first quarter of 2014 amounted to about 2.9 trillion drams (a 0.24 percent decline from the beginning of the year; their liabilities stood at 2.4 trillion drams (down 0.76% ); their total capital was 481.6 billion drams (up 2.49% ) and their net profit upped almost 7 percent to 9.1 billion drams. ($ 1 - 413.36 drams). -0 -