YEREVAN, July 3. /ARKA/. Unibank has made a decision to forgive its individual customers' fines and penalties for bad loans, which are calculated and reflected in the bank's off-balance account, the Yerevan-based bank said today in a press release, specifying that the decision applies to overdue loans which were repayable in 271 days or more as of May 31, 2018.

It said borrowers need to apply to the head office or any branch of the bank as soon as possible and submit appropriate applications, which the bank needs to forgive fines and penalties, and also set new repayment schedules for the remaining loan amounts and interests.

In fact, this approach will allow the customers to restore their credit histories and apply for new loans in the future, the bank said.

'Despite the fact that the latest amendments to the Tax Code apply only to individuals' loans, Unibank, guided by the principle of maximum protection of clients' interests and the need to stimulate entrepreneurs, is ready to restructure credits also for individual entrepreneurs and SMEs, setting a more flexible repayment schedule in view of their business types and seasonality.'

'Unibank has been implementing the client-oriented policy for many years. We welcome changes in the legislation, as they allow the bank to expand this approach to forgive fines and penalties accumulated over many years,' said Deputy Board Chairman Ovsanna Arakelyan.

She noted that the overall amount to be forgiven is about 1.5 billion drams, so that Unibank customers will have the opportunity to draw up new repayment scheduled and then again apply for loans without problems.

On June 21 the Armenian parliament adopted amendments to the Tax Code in the second and final reading, allowing banks to "forgive" citizens fines and penalties for delinquencies in unpaid loans. ($ 1 - 482.49 drams). -0-