Yerevan/Mediamax/. Central Bank (CB) of Armenia and “Farm Credit Armenia” signed an agreement today within the framework of the loan program of the World Bank (WB) “Financial Affordability of Small and Medium Entrepreneurship”.

Mediamax reports that this program provides for allocation of USD 50mln to Armenian CB for development of small and medium enterprise (SME).

The means will be distributed among 10 Armenian commercial banks and “Farm Credit Armenia” company, which in their turn will provide credits for the term of 5 years at the interest rate of 13-20%.

Deputy Chairman of Armenian CB Vache Gabrielyan noted that SME crediting program is a part of the crisis prevention program of the government and aims at development of SME in Armenia.

According to “Farm Credit Armenia” CEO Armen Gabrielyan, this is the only credit company, included in WB program, since it underwent the special check of the Armenian CB. “This is a unique opportunity for us to consolidate our positions, providing credits within the framework of that program, thus contributing to improvement of rural economies and enterprises and development of agriculture in Armenia in general”, Armen Gabrielyan stated.