HSBC Bank Armenia to celebrate its 15th anniversary with record-breaking profits

7 February, 2011

Was the year 2010 successful for HSBC Bank Armenia How much profit did the bank receive in 2010. How much did the loan portfolio and portfolio of deposits grow?

Yes we had a very successful year in 2010. Our profit before tax was AMD5.9Bn, which was a record for us in Armenia and also the highest amongst all local banks. This result was primarily driven by the growth in our loan portfolio. Our commercial loan portfolio almost doubled, as we lent around $140 million in new money to local companies of all sizes.

However, it wasn’t just about profitability. We were recognized as the “Best Bank in Armenia” by Euromoney and “Best Bank for Foreign Exchange” by Global Finance, we launched our very popular Trade Academy, we started selling 6 different insurance products, and we increased our capital to support future growth. In addition, every year HSBC measures “employee engagement” in the 87 countries in which we operate and I’m pleased to say that HSBC Armenia had the highest result of all these 87 countries, meaning that we have the most motivated and committed staff in the world! I think this is clearly reflected in our excellent results.

How many Internet, telephone banking and HSBCnet customers have already used those services? (separately)

We have over 500 HSBCnet customers, who use this channel for around 85% of their non-cash transactions. We have 17,000 telephone banking customers and 6,000 internet banking customers, who currently use these services for around 35% of their transactions.

What are the bank’s plans for 2011, in terms of introducing any new products and services, especially in loan or card business?

At the end of last year we launched insurance services, so we are now selling motor, home, travel, medical and personal accident insurance directly to our customers. We have just launched new cumulative deposit accounts – these deposits pay high rates of interest but are very flexible as they allow customers to add any amount to them at any time. We have 3 types, for short-term savings, for long-term savings/pensions and for children. For every new child account opened we will also be planting a tree in the child’s name in one of the local parks, in fact we will invite all of the children to plant their owns trees later in the year. I’m sure they will enjoy watching the trees grow and flourish as they do (and of course as their accounts do!). HSBC opened in Armenia in March 1996 so 2011 is our 15th anniversary in the country. Obviously we will be having lots of events and activities to celebrate this and to thank our customers for all of their support over the years.

You were planning to resume mortgage and auto loan provision. At what stage is that process? What are the conditions of mortgage and auto loan provision? (separately: interest rate, maturity, pre-payment, upper ceiling)

We resumed AMD lending in December. Interests rates for mortgages and renovation loans vary between 12-14%, for car loans between 16-17% and for personal assistance loans the interest rate is 24%. Maximum term is 15 years for mortgages, 10 years for renovation loans, 5 years for car loans and 2 years for personal assistance loans. There are no pre-payment fees for car or personal assistance loans, for mortgages and renovation loans it is the early repayment amount x 0.1% x the remaining number of months, but this is only applicable if the loan is repaid during the first half of the loan tenor. Maximum amount is AMD100m for mortgages, AMD20m for renovation loans, AMD10m for car loans and AMD1.5m for personal assistance loans.

How many plastic cards did the bank issue in 2010? How many active plastic cards were registered for late 2010? What was the growth as against 2009?

We issued 14,600 plastic cards in 2010, 3,600 credit cards and 11,000 ATM cards. At the end of the year we had 52,800 plastic cards in total, 15,600 credit cards and 37,200 ATM cards. The growth rate compared to 2009 was 23% for credit cards and 31% for AMT cards.

How many ATMs and POS-terminals do you serve at present and what was the growth versus 2009? Do you plan installation of cash-in ATMs in 2011? Have you made any steps in this dimension?

We currently have around 300 POS terminals (15% growth during 2010). We increased the number of ATMs by one, but we actually expanded our coverage further as we also relocated 4 in-branch ATMs to different areas of the city. Yes we do plan to install cash-in ATMs this year, unfortunately the project is taking a bit longer than we initially planned but it is definitely progressing.

Arminfo

Last updated on: 15/02/2011 09:30