YEREVAN, May 19. /ARKA/. Armenian citizens are aware of the financial ombudsman’s services in the country, but prefer to assert their rights through the courts, the head of trustees’ board of Armenia’s Ombudsman Office and member of the central bank board Armenak Darbinyan said at the sixth international conference on financial ombudsman’s services in Yerevan on Tuesday.

According to the polls, 57% of the citizens favor the pro-active approach in asserting their rights, but only 37% possess the required knowledge about how to protect their rights, he said.

Some 60% know about the financial ombudsman services available, but still consider the judiciary as the main way to protect their interests, Darbinyan said.

These percentages demonstrate there is progress in the activities and the recognizability of the financial ombudsman office, according to Darbinyan. Yet, a lot remains to be done for better public awareness of the services, he added.

According to the expert, cooperation with the central bank and other financial market participants is important to increase the role of the financial mediator.

The sixth international conference to strengthen the public trust and expand the financial mediation is held in Yerevan on May 19-20. The event is attended by experts and financial mediators from Great Britain, Ireland, Switzerland, Australia and Russia.

The conference is discussing the experience and mechanisms for solving financial disputes, mortgage loan payment guarantees, card forgeries and frauds. The participants will address also customer services strategies and use of modern media in connection with financial mediation.

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