Yerevan /Mediamax/. Two commercial banks –Artsakhbank CJSC and## Armbusinessbank CJSC – cooperate with the Artsakh Investment Fund at present, which renders state financial support to the mortgage loaning, the Fund’s Director General Karen Yesayan told Mediamax today.

According to him, by mid August the Artsakhbank has issued loans worth 364mn 502 thousand drams, and Armbusinessbank – 74mn 100 thousand drams.

Karen Yesayan expressed hope that the number of commercial banks ready to issue mortgage loans will increase in the course of time. He noted that the program of governmental assistance to mortgage loaning is implemented in NKR for the first time, which makes loans relatively available for the population. Particularly, the program envisages partial financing of interest rates by loans during which the government pays the half of the 12% annual interest rate. The rest 6% the citizen pays at the expense of his own means. As of 15 August 2008, 519 citizens have applied to the Artsakh Investment Fund - 40,08% of them expressed desire to buy an apartment or a house.

“The construction of new apartments will help gradually balance the supply and the demand for apartments, thus stop the growth of prices and reduce the sharp housing problem in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Karen Yesayan stated.