YEREVAN, October 20. /ARKA/. Armeconombank OJSC is negotiating now to merge with Kazakhstan's BTA Bank CJSC in Armenia, Anna Mkrtchyan, the press secretary of Armeconombank, told ARKA News Agency on Tuesday.

In her words, the bank is now conducting legal and financial audit in BTA Bank CJSC for merger.
The audit process will last up to two months, and after that the deal is likely to be sealed.
“This will be a significant event in the banking sector,” she said. “Armeconimbank is considered a core bank in Armenia, and it tries to be first in everything.”

Armeconombank was registered on August 26, 1991. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development holds 20% of the bank's shares, 22.6% belong to Saribek Sukiasyan, 19.5% to Khachatur Sukiasyan and 15.3% to Robert Sukiasyan.

BTA Bank CJSC was established in 1991. BTA Bank CJSC is a strategic partner to BTA Bank JSC, one of the largest banks of Kazakhstan, who holds 65.2% of Armenian BTA Bank's shares. The reaming shares belong to Austria's ZRL Beteilingungs (31.1%) and PSC AMK-Invest LLC (3.7%). ----0---