YEREVAN, January 26. /ARKA/. VTB Bank (Armenia) released a statement on Tuesday denying media reports that the Azerbaijani authorities enjoy access to the bank clients’ personal data.

It has been repeatedly reported that Azerbaijan (3% of VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company belong to the Oil Fund of Azerbaijan) has access to personal data of VTB Bank (Armenia) clients.

“VTB Bank (Armenia) is officially stating that this information has absolutely nothing in common with the reality and that it misinforms public,” the bank says in its statement.

According to the statement, the reports VTB Bank provides to shareholders and the bank’s observer council contain no personal data on clients (individuals and legal entities). All the detailed data are kept strictly secret in accordance with the law.

VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company, whose 60.9348% voting stocks belong to Russia, is the sole shareholder of VTB Bank (Armenia). The remaining shareholders of VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company are private and institutional investors from all over the world, including Europe, the United States and Armenia.

“The bank is always working beyond politics and is guided solely by economic reasons when making its decisions,” the banks said in its statement.

VTB Bank (Armenia) also says that the activity of its branch in Stepanakert (capital city of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) was ceased yet in 2008, while the Oil Fund of Azerbaijan became a shareholder of VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company only in 2013. It means these two circumstances can’t be connected to each other.

“It was decided to close this branch only because the Artsakh branch brought no profits to the bank, and decisions to open or close VTB Bank (Armenia) branches are always prompted by economic reasonability, not by political factors,” the statement says.

VTB Bank Armenia (Armenian Savings Bank before June 2006) joined VTB Group in April 2004.

VTB, the second largest bank of Russia, holds 100% of shares of VTB Bank (Armenia). VTB Bank (Armenia) has 67 branches all over Armenia’s territory - the largest branch network in the country. VTB Bank (Armenia) is reckoned among leaders for general indicators. --0---