YEREVAN, December 7. /ARKA/. Armeconombank and BTA Bank (Armenia) intend to merge, the press office of Armeconombank reported on Tuesday.

According to the press release, the heads of Kazakh's BTA Bank and Armenia's Armeconombank signed an appropriate memorandum in Almaty.

«The signed memorandum will allow the parties to embark on merger procedures – to convene shareholder assemblies and to obtain the central bank's authorization,» the press office says.

Armeconombank was established on August 26, 1991. The EBRD holds 20% of the bank's shares, 22.6% belong to Saribek Sukiasyan, 19.5% to Khachatur Sukiasyana and 15.3% to Robert Sukiasyan.

'BTA Bank' CJSC was established in 1991 as the heir of International Investments Bank CJSC. Its activity is licensed by the Central Bank of Armenia.

The bank shareholders are БТА Банк (Kazakhstan) – 65.2%, ZRL Beteilingungs (Austria) -31.1% and “PSC AMK-Invest” LLC- 3.7%. ---0---