YEREVAN, May 19. /ARKA/. VTB Bank (Armenia) said today the number of loans provided to individuals and small businesses as of March 31, 2016 stood at 54, 800 worth  more than 18.7 billion drams, twice the number of loans provided in the same period of  time in 2015.

At the end of the first quarter the bank's retail loan portfolio included about 185,000 issued loans worth 93.5 billion drams.

"Lending to retail businesses is one of the main directions of VTB Bank (Armenia) activity. The bank pursues a balanced and flexible credit policy, offering various types of loans to its customers. The achieved result once again confirms that the bank retains a leading position in the Armenian market of crediting,' the bank said in a press release.

The bank's assets grew by 1.48% in the first quarter from the beginning of the year to  314.7 billion drams; its  liabilities increased by 1.29% to 272.7 billion drams; its total capital grew by 2.7% to 42 billion drams and its credit investments fell by 3.67% to 176.9 billion drams.

VTB Bank (Armenia) was entirely acquired by Russian VTB Group in 2004. It runs 67 branches across Armenia, more than any other local bank.-0-