ArmInfo.The Banker magazine, the world's leading financial publication and part of the Financial Times, named Ameriabank the Bank of the Year in Armenia at its 21st Annual Awards in London.
The awards ceremony took place on December 3 in London. As the press service of Armenia told ArmInfo, Ameriabank will become the winner of the nomination <Best Bank of the Year in Armenia> for the seventh time, and the earliest awards date back to 2010, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
At the awards ceremony held on December 3 in London, the organizers of the competition noted: "Ameriabank was recognized as the winner for tangible progress, serious achievements and innovative approaches in a number of areas. Our team conducted research among banks for several months, focusing on key performance indicators, development strategies and improvement of customer service. The title of "Best Bank of Armenia" was awarded to Ameriabank for sustainable growth, serious steps in the field of digitization of services, introduction of new and modern banking instruments. "
The Banker Award is the global benchmark for assessing the development of banking and is presented for the 21st consecutive year. This year's awards were given to leading banks from over 100 countries. The Bank of the Year 2020 awards went to such banks as Commerzbank (Germany), VTB Bank (Russia), China Merchants Bank (CMB, China), Lloyds Banking Group (Great Britain) and other reputable financial institutions.
The Banker magazine also emphasized that this year Ameriabank provided significant assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises in Armenia. The importance of the process of providing online loans by the bank, which enables small and medium-sized enterprises through a scoring system to submit an online application and receive a response to a loan in a matter of minutes, was especially noted. Ameriabank's online mortgage and car loan platforms are also recognized as innovative solutions aimed at customer comfort and efficient implementation of business goals.
Ameriabank became the clear winner in the "Best Bank of Armenia" nomination due to strong growth in the reporting year 2019, as well as its commitment to launching digital services for its clients. The bank achieved positive results in most of the key indicators: net profit for the year increased by 15.4%, while total assets and Tier 1 capital grew by 24.2% and 5.9%, respectively. The bank's return on total capital remained stable at 12.8%. Committed to serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country, as well as the ongoing digitalization of its products and services, Ameriabank launched online loan applications and authorizations for this business segment in 2019. As part of the first stage of this strategy, Ameriabank allowed issuing loans to SMEs only online in the amount of up to AMD 10 million ($ 20.2 thousand). By the end of 2019, as part of the second phase of this strategy, the bank expanded its credit limit and, using a more advanced scoring module, provided customers with an opportunity to receive a response in a matter of minutes. The bank has achieved this with the help of artificial intelligence tools.
In addition, Ameriabank launched online applications for mortgage and car loans, and the introduction of electronic signatures for individual clients reduced the cost of opening new accounts by about 40%. The agreement reached between the messaging app Zangi and Ameriabank also allows customers to communicate with the bank free of charge from anywhere in the world, regardless of the mobile operator they use.
The video of the official award ceremony for the winners is available under the link https://www.thebanker.com/Awards/Bank-of-The-Year-Awards/Bank-of-t he-Year-Awards-2020-central-and-eastern- Europe # CEE2
According to the Financial Rating of Banks of Armenia as of September 30, 2020, prepared by ArmInfo IC, Ameriabank is in the lead in terms of total capital - $ 221.4 million, assets - $ 1.9 billion. In terms of the loan portfolio, it ranks the 2nd place- over $ 1.3 billion, the same place in corporate lending. - $ 921.6 million. In terms of lending to SMEs, the bank ranks the 2nd place - $ 263.3 million, and in the portfolio of mortgage loans it leads with a volume of $ 226.4 million. The bank in the 2nd place in terms of investments in securities, - $ 188.9 million, and the same position holds on investments in government bonds - $ 178.6 million. In terms of total liabilities, the bank has the 2nd place - over $ 1.6 billion, and on demand deposits - the 2nd place, on time deposits - 3rd, and on loans attracted from international bodies - 2nd. In terms of deposits of individuals (additional claims and urgent), Ameriabank takes the 2nd place - $ 532.4 million. In terms of net profit, the bank is in the TOP-3 - over $ 14 million for 9 months of 2020.
To note, Ameriabank CJSC is a universal bank providing investment, corporate and retail banking services in the form of a comprehensive package of banking solutions. The bank has been operating in the Armenian market since October 31, 1996. The branch network of Ameriabank currently has 19 subdivisions: 11 - in the capital and 8 - in the regional. The bank's shareholders as of October 1, 2020 are Imast Group (CY) Limited (previous name - Ameria Group (C-Y) Limited - 48.95%, EBRD - 17.76%, Asian Development Bank - 13.94%, ESPS Holding Limited - 11.83% and Afeyan Foundation for Armenia Inc. - 7.52%.
