IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK signed an International Swaps and Derivatives Association master agreement, which will support ACBA-Credit Agricole to better manage its currency and interest-rate risks, and help improve its competitiveness and profitability.

Under the agreement, IFC will provide ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK with U.S. dollar interest-rate swaps and foreign currency swaps. This will enable the bank to mitigate its interest-rate risks on borrowed funds as well as currency risks for its euro deposit base, and allow it to provide a wider range of deposit products to customers.

“This transaction will help strengthen our risk-management capacity, which is particularly important in the post-crisis period,” said Stepan Gishyan, CEO of ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK.     

Thomas Lubeck, IFC Regional Head of the Caucasus, said, “This innovative tool will support ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK, a reliable partner in Armenia helping lead the post-crisis recovery. It is an example of the high value-added services that IFC can offer to its clients.”