Yerevan, June 22 /Mediamax/. International “Global Rating Group” Rating Agency assigned “B-” rating (stable credit outlook) to “ARARATBANK”.

Mediamax reports that the President of Global Rating Group Richard Hainsworth stated at a news conference in Yerevan today that the fact evidences the great transparency of the bank activities.

The rating is conditioned by high speeds of development, presence of a strong owner, maximum transparency. The level of adequacy of capital is characterized as high; the structure and the quality are assessed as positive. The quality of assets also gained a positive assessment. The activity of the bank is profitable, the indices of profit – satisfactory.

According to Hainsworth, “each country should have its national rating agency and its voice on the international markets”. Starting from December 2006, Global Rating Group is presented by “AmRating” Agency on the territory of Armenia. “Today, it is a turning-point for us, when “AmRating” assigns rating to a local bank for the first time”, Hainsworth stressed.

Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia Tigran Sarkisian noted the importance of establishing a national rating agency in Armenia and stressed that given such market infrastructures, the banking system of the country becomes “understandable” for the international investors.

According to the CB Chairman, evidence of that is the fact that two new applications are added to the previous 5 applications on entering the Armenian banking market, received from foreign banks.

The Executive Director of “ARARATBANK” Ashot Osipian informed that starting from October of 2006, the assets of the bank have increased three times approximately, the capital – 1,5 times; the bank became an active participant of the financial market, providing new banking tools.