Yerevan /Mediamax/. “100 Steps” social-economic program of oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC), elaborated under the supervision of Ex-Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan, is “socialistic as to its essence”.

Development Director of “Ameriabank” Tigran Jrbashyan said this at a news conference in Yerevan today, commenting on Mediamax’s request on banking system reformation suggestions, contained in ANC’s program.

“The program is quite contradictory and causes incomprehension in me, since, as a liberal economist, I would like to see more economists, defending liberalism, in the Armenian political field. It is even sadder that the supporters of liberal reforms in Armenia become fewer”, Tigran Jrbashyan stated.

According to him, the program for instance contains a number of suggestions, which have already been realized. “Here we particularly speak about the order of disputing the decisions of the Central Bank Chairman in court, as well as about presenting CB monetary-credit policy in the parliament, about implementing the system of corporate management in banks, etc”, Tigran Jrbashyan stated.

He also noted the presence of items contradicting each other in the program. In particular, this is the suggestion on providing the Central Bank (CB) with authorities to establish financial norms for financial organizations and, on the other hand, the suggestion to take the security market out of CB control.

Tigran Jrbashyan noted that ANC program contains a number of ideas, which have not been worked on well, for instance, the idea of sterilizing private transfers, the implementation of which is “very doubtful”, or the provision on adopting a law on refinancing or writing off credits or reformation of banks into open joint stock companies.

The provision on insuring 60% of deposits by the government has no analogues in the world at all, Development Director of “Ameriabank” informed.

Tigran Jrbashyan also stated that ANC program contains unrealistic potential indices concerning the financial system of Armenia. “If we look at the indices suggested for the markets of capital and insurance in Armenia, it turns out that out today’s financial market should be even more developed than the ones of developed countries”, Head of “Ameriabank” Development Department stated.