Yerevan/Mediamax/. By the decision of CB Board, “All-Armenian Bank” OJSC is issued a license for banking activity.

Thus, the All-Armenian Bank can be considered founded.

The All-Armenian Bank was first announced to be established in June 2008. Presenting the conception of the bank then, CB Chairman Artur Javadian said that the main goal of the bank will be the financing of projects within the framework of the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia. He noted that the All-Armenian Bank will be guided by commercial principles of activity, but will not make competition for Armenian commercial financial institutions.

The All-Armenian Bank was expected to be set up by late 2008, however it did not happen. Only in January 2009, Armenian President Serzh Sargsian signed the law “On All-Armenian bank” adopted by the parliament, after which CB Chairman said the bank would start functioning already in June 2009. Artur Javadian noted then that the international recruitment organization was working on finding candidates to the port of bank’s chairman.

In May 2009, Armenian Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan said in the interview to Business New Europe that the All-Armenian Bank would become a “global retail bank” and would allow Armenia “to say goodbye to foreign credits.” Nerses Yeritsyan said that the government wanted to turn the monetary transfers to Armenia into a capital and will create a bank with branches all over the globe to this end. “Just imagine that even if 1% of all Armenians opens a credit card in the new bank, it will bring so much money that we will be able to say goodbye to credits of international financial institutions forever,” Nerses Yeritsyan used to say.

He noted that the government of Armenia invested $20mln into the capital of All-Armenian Bank and was going to attract more $80mln from Diaspora. Nerses Yeritsyan acknowledged that as a result of the global crisis some representatives of Diaspora changed their minds regarding their participation in the bank’s capital. “However, we believe that they will return and we will realize our plans to create a bank,” the Minister stressed then.

In November 2009, the CB press service told Mediamax that international experts worked over the All-Armenian Bank’s business-plan and were choosing a CEO for this structure. “For the elaboration of the business-plan we meet with representatives of banks, governmental structures and other organizations. These works will be over by the end of the year after which the All-Armenian Bank will start functioning in accord with the business-plan,” CB press service reported then.

Addressing the parliament on 18 November 2009, Armenian PM Tigran Sargsian said that the All-Armenian Bank will start functioning in 2010. He informed that competent international organizations were commissioned to elaborate the business-plan of the All-Armenian Bank and were looking for a CEO.”

However, the bank failed to start functioning in 2010 either. In late 2010, Vahram Nersisyants, previously holding the post of Armenian President’s Economic Adviser, was appointed All-Armenian bank’s Chairman. He said then that the bank would start functioning in spring 2011 and would finance long-term investment programs, called to back the export of Armenian production to international markets.