YEREVAN, May 19. /ARKA/. The total capital of 17 Armenia-based commercial banks in the first quarter of 2021 stood at 913 billion drams, Executive Director of the Union of Banks of Armenia Seyran Sargsyan said at a press conference on Wednesday.

According to him, in the first quarter, the total capital grew by 1.8% or 17 billion drams, while compared to the first quarter of 2020, the growth was 5.9% or 51 billion drams.

He said the growth was backed by the profits accumulated by the banks in previous years and the capital invested by shareholders.

"This is an important indicator that ensures the stability of the system, its ability to withstand stress and contribute to the expansion and development of banking activities," Sargsyan said.

At the same time, he noted that the assets of banks, as of March 31, 2021 grew by 12.7% year-on-year or by 752 billion drams.

According to him, the ratio of assets to GDP has been constantly growing in recent years - from 54.9% in 2011 to 107% in 2020, partly to the drop in GDP.

He also noted that the ratio of loans to GDP was also constantly increasing amounting at the end of 2020 to 70.7%, while the ratio of deposits to GDP - to 60%.

“Based on this, we can say that the role of the banking system in the economy is growing every year, which is an important trend,” Sargsyan stated.

He also said that today Armenian banks serve 3.2 million individual and corporate clients who have more than 6.27 million bank accounts. ($1 - 521.55 drams). --0--