Category: News

The credit policy implemented in Armenia has led to the fact that the population is widely burdened with loans. It may be normal to take a loan, but it is not normal that the growth of the credit burden is ahead of the income.

It turned out that Armenia has found itself in a situation where the population’s credit burden has grown disproportionately faster than income in recent years. This has created risks for both households and other participants in the financial system.

The disproportionate increase in the credit burden of households has started to concern the Central Bank.

Households’ burden of both debt and debt service has increased.

“Our concern is that loans are growing faster than incomes are growing. Therefore, we expect our commercial bank partners to be very careful and sensitive in providing new loans.

In particular, in the lending process, the borrower’s debt burden and the proper assessment of its serviceability are considered important, which will include not only the assessment of the current macro environment, but also the assessment of the risks arising from the assumed pessimistic scenario,” stated the Central Bank President the other day, presenting the Central Bank’s report on financial stability.

The Central Bank was especially concerned about the growth of consumer loans. It is believed that these concerns have increased, especially due to the slowing down of the economic growth rate.

Let’s remind that in the first quarter of this year, the economic growth in Armenia was only 4 percent, which is the lowest in the last 5 years or 2021. then it is the lowest index recorded for the given period.

The Central Bank is concerned that this will lead to a slowdown in the growth of the population’s income.

A significant weakening of the growth rate of the average salary is already noticeable. In the first quarter, the average salary increased by only 2.9 percent, which is significantly lower than the recorded inflation.

“In that case, if the loans continue to grow at the same pace, we will have higher figures of the gap. Therefore, our partners in commercial banks should be vigilant,” warns the president of the Central Bank.

In recent years, there has been an unprecedented increase in the credit burden of the population in Armenia. But not only the government and commercial banks, but also the Central Bank have their share of guilt in this. The control of the financial market and the provision of financial stability in general is placed on the Central Bank. The Central Bank is obliged to take timely measures to prevent the credit market from heating up.

Although certain steps have been taken in that regard, the concerns voiced by the Central Bank prove that they were not enough, that adequate measures were not taken to curb the banks’ appetite. Although, in the conditions of widespread and often unjustified lending, experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the accumulated credit risks.

The increase in the population’s credit burden took place through the increase of both mortgage and consumer loans. Especially consumer loans have increased sharply in recent years.

In just 3 years, the portfolio of consumer loans of banks has more than doubled. If in 2023 in March it was only 928 billion drams, in March of this year it reached 1 trillion 909 billion drams.

Only from this sector, the credit burden of citizens increased by 981 billion drams in 3 years. If we convert it into foreign currency, it will be more than 2.6 billion dollars.

That burden has increased without the cheapening of loans. Although there was a gradual reduction of the policy interest rate during that time, the banks almost did not reduce the interest rates on consumer loans. Instead, they eased lending conditions in a number of directions, thus stimulating demand and ensuring high interest incomes.

During three years, citizens have accumulated an additional credit burden of 2.6 billion dollars only in terms of consumer loans. Naturally, it did not happen in 1 day, 1 month, or even 1 year, and the Central Bank was obliged to take timely measures to prevent this credit fever. Or did they not know at that time that the credit burden of citizens is growing disproportionately faster than their incomes? Even if they did not know, they should have realized that that time will also come. And it is still a question of how far it will be possible to get out from under this without shocks in case of further escalations.

It should be noted that last year there was an increase in the weight of consumer loans classified as non-performing and monitored. Such was 6 percent of consumer loans, which, judging by the existing risks, will continue to grow in the near future.

Today, citizens’ credit burden exceeds 5.1 billion dollars only in terms of consumer loans. But the problem is that the credit burden of citizens is not limited only to consumer loans. No less big burden has been accumulated in the mortgage line.

Citizens’ mortgage loans reach 1.7 trillion drams, which is equivalent to 4.9 billion dollars.

In recent years, the burden of citizens’ mortgage loans has also increased at a high rate. Only during the previous 3 years, they increased by 806 trillion drams or by more than 87 percent. It is true that at the moment the Central Bank’s concerns are mainly related to consumer loans, but in the near future the same concerns may also arise in the case of mortgage loans.

The credit burden of citizens, which comes from consumer and mortgage loans, has reached 10 billion dollars. This is a huge burden on the population, however disproportionately it is distributed across groups of citizens. Concerns related to consumer loans are even greater, because they very often have a purely social meaning and in the conditions of the deterioration of the economic situation in the country, they increase the risks related to insolvency.

HAKOB KOCHARYAN

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Davit Ananyan, member of the management board of the “Unity Wings” party, representative of the pre-election list, general director of the company “DS-EY Consulting Group”, former head of the RA State Revenue Committee (SRC), candidate of economic sciences. writes:

“CAUTION!

Another falsehood and political provocation is being circulated in the information field using artificial intelligence. The corrupt and morally bankrupt forces are spreading false “news” that Arman Tatoyan, the prime ministerial candidate of the “Wings of Unity” party, has expressed his willingness to cooperate with the “Civil Agreement” party if he passes the National Assembly.

This is an absolute lie, conscious manipulation and political fraud.

The reality has long been known to the public. we have repeatedly, clearly, publicly and unequivocally stated that the reproduction of Nikol Pashinyan’s rule is excluded. Any option of preserving the power of the “Civil Agreement” party is also excluded.

Our political force was created not to adapt to this government, but to remove this system that leads to the destruction of the state. And we will do everything possible and impossible to remove this evil from the state and political life of Armenia.

It is not by chance that lies, provocations and informational diversions became active before the elections. They understand very well that “Wings of Unity” has become a real political and public factor, and that is why they are trying to distort our positions, sow doubts in the public and weaken our public support.

Dear compatriots,

Do not give in to these cheap provocations. Be alert and distinguish the real political struggle from fake and informational garbage. The real purpose of these attempts to weaken us is to take your votes away from us so that the reproduction of the current government becomes easier and more controllable.

But that will not happen.

The future of Armenia will not be determined by fakes and technological manipulations, but by the conscious, dignified and decisive choice of the people.”

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In 1916, the famous Russian poet Sergey Gorodetsky was on the Caucasian front of the First World War. That period was of great importance for the writer, especially regarding his pro-Armenian position.

Already after the October Revolution, he published his collection of poems “The Angel of Armenia”. It is in that book that he talks about the Armenian Genocide. In 1919, Gorodetsky’s article “Karabakh” was published in “Кавказское слово” periodical.

In the article, Gorodetsky mentions the main thesis that Artsakh is one of the main pillars of the historical existence, national identity and cultural continuity of the Armenian people. He emphasizes that Artsakh is the eastern wing of Armenia and the main guarantor of security, not only geographically, but also in a military-political sense, without which it is impossible to protect Armenia. At the same time, the article defends the point of view that the loss of Artsakh will mean not only a territorial loss, but also a violation of the idea of ​​self-determination of nations, while its preservation can become the main point of the cultural and national revival of Armenia.

About 100 years ago, Gorodetsky points to points that, decades later, now show that the points he pointed to were true. Below we present Sergey Gorodetsky’s article “Karabakh” in its entirety.

Sergey Gorodetsky, “Karabakh”, 1919.

“Every country, every nation has its traditional fortress. When the history of the people has a successful course, it becomes the center of cultural and political life. And when fate persecutes a nation, it becomes a pillar of national life, an island of hopes, a guarantee of rebirth. For the Armenian people, the last mentioned role was played and played by the mountainous region of Karabakh. Nature itself has given it immense importance.

There, in the impregnable heights of Karabakh, which are the continuation of the Kars and Sevan plateaus, the Armenian people endured the attacks of nomadic tribes for more than two thousand years, preserving their culture, preserving their national face. Being united ethnographically, economically and linguistically, Karabakh has become the citadel of Armenia, its eastern wing. That’s how he was in the past, that’s how he is now, and that’s how he will be forever, because without being the owner of Karabakh, it is impossible to protect the heart of Armenia, the Ararat valley.

Many times in the course of history, the waves of attack hit and shattered the fortress of Karabakh, penetrating only the river valleys, but they did not stay there for long. The rulers of Syunik (that’s how Karabakh was called) in ancient times drove the enemy from the local lands many times by their own forces. History repeats itself, and last time it happened in front of our eyes. Nature and history in Karabakh were created in a vividly expressed type.

It is easy to recognize Karabakh people scattered all over the world. A wide momentum of activity, selfless courage, willingness to risk life, self-confidence, original persistence, patriarchal lifestyle – these are the endearing characteristics of the Karabakh people, which seem to be the concentration of the old Armenian virtues, virtues that have faded from the brutalities of history and have been preserved in Karabakh in a pure form.

A tall, sturdy people, ascending the mountains to save their lives, were strengthened by the influence of the mountain air, and kept free from the infections which befall the inhabitants of the valleys. The national memory of Armenia must preserve the memory of many famous people from Karabakh. There is no field in which they have not demonstrated their entrepreneurship and talent.

Politics, literature, social activities, trade – all these served as a field of work for them… By giving many notable figures, Karabakh created or, more precisely, preserved in its pure form the type of the ancient Armenian woman, in whose psychology and lifestyle much has been preserved from the patriarchy.

Karabakh forged by its culture and lifestyle has not cast a shadow on its ancient glory in our days. As in Tamerlan’s time, gathering their troops, the Meliks defended the independence of Karabakh.

The Shushi incident did not change the overall picture of Nur Pasha’s defeat, and the line of defense remained essentially intact, as during the previous attacks. Such is the significance of Karabakh for Armenia. If Armenia loses Karabakh, then the idea of ​​self-determination of nations should be severely crushed.

And on the contrary, Armenia, being the owner of Karabakh, will receive a strong flow of cultural power, which, flooding the destroyed spaces of Armenia, will impregnate them with culture and thereby complete the centuries-old history of Karabakh. Each nation is now looking for its own. The whole future of the reborn nations depends on whether they will find in themselves a sufficient, so to speak, level of national culture.

In such conditions, all centers where cultural life has been concentrated for one reason or another acquire exceptional importance. Such is the significance of Karabakh for Armenia.

It is true that history has drawn Armenia to the south, to the warm sea, and perhaps from there forces will pour in that will make Karabakh the northern edge of the new Armenia, but even then it does not lose its importance as an untouched and centuries-old cultural fund.” (“Reborn Armenia”, 1989, N1).

Z. I hesitated

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A difficult situation may arise in Armenia related to gas, and Russia does not want that to happen. This was announced by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk in an interview with Pavel Zarubin.

“They [Armenia] just have to look at the map and see which pipelines are still operational. And they will immediately see where they will get Russian gas, taking into account the 30% export duty, because that will be the market price. Because middlemen will also want to get their share of the profits. Therefore, the situation in Armenia will become very complicated. We don’t want that,” said the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.

The journalist also asked Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev whether Armenia can get rich without cheap Russian gas. “Well, let them try, it’s their choice. But so far, the structure of their economy shows that they are experiencing significant GDP growth, thanks in part to cheap Russian energy resources. Let them try to replace it with European ones, and we will see what will happen,” Tsivilev told Zarubin.

At the EAEU summit held in Astana on May 29, the leaders of the member states issued a joint statement, in which, among other things, they called for a referendum in Armenia as soon as possible on joining the EU or remaining in the EAEU.

Earlier, after the EAEU summit held in Astana, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Armenia could lose 14% of its GDP if it leaves the EAEU.

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For 8 years, they promised us modern, accessible and human-centered healthcare. Instead, we got overburdened doctors, endless administration, emptying medical facilities in marzes, increasing cost of medical care and a system where the citizen is often left alone in front of his problem.

About this 168TVof “Healthy Decision” spoke during the program Anush Poghosyan, president of “Right to Health” NGO:

According to him, thousands of families experienced pain, loss and uncertainty during COVID-19.

“After the war, thousands of wounded, displaced persons and families were left with incomplete support. In these years, health care was often more busy with propaganda than with real reforms,” ​​Anush Poghosyan presented the situation.

The latter added that even today people continue to collect money for treatment, wait in lines, travel to Yerevan from marzes to receive basic services.

“The medical worker continues to work under conditions of pressure, uncertainty and unappreciated work,” said Anush Poghosyan.

Summing up, the human rights defender called on the public to definitely participate in the June 7 parliamentary elections.

“Go to the elections so that health care is managed by specialists, not by political interests. Go to the election so that the doctor can work decently in his country. Go to the election so that the citizen has the right to be treated, not just the obligation to pay. Go to the polls, because the price of healthcare mistakes is human lives,” concluded Anush Poghosyan.

Details in the video.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@168amofficial, write your questions about the issues that concern you.

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All-Armenian Catholicos Garegin II calls on the Armenian people to participate in the parliamentary elections next Sunday, June 7. His Holiness announced this in his address on the occasion of the Ararat Week.

Garegin the Second reminded that on June 7, the church celebrates the feast of Saint Etchmiadzin Cathedral, which was built 1725 years ago.

“Unfortunately, these days we will celebrate the holiday of St. Etchmiadzin in a situation where heavy losses have disturbed the peace of our people, when the foundations of our people’s identity are being attacked, and sacred spiritual and national symbols are beggared. We will celebrate the feast of St. Etchmiadzin in deeply worrying conditions: our society is divided, hatred, enmity, intolerance and injustice are being sown in the homeland, and with the intervention of the authorities, the age-old regulations of the church are being mutilated, our Holy Church and church-loving people are being persecuted and repressed,” said Vehapar.

He stressed that in these difficult days it is more than important to stick firmly to the Christian faith, overcome internal divisions and restore the inner peace and tranquility of our people.

“My father urges all of you to participate in the elections indiscriminately this coming Sunday, with a high awareness of the interests of the nation and the motherland, with a vision of a bright future and responsibility towards the generations, so that the law prevails in our country, human rights and dignity are respected, justice and truth, love and solidarity and mutual respect are mastered, discarding all malice, all deceit, hypocrisies, envy and all slander, as in the message is the apostle (I Pet. 2.1)”, the Catholicos said.

He called on the political forces to be free from hate speech, to show vigilance and prudence and to keep the Armenian people away from possible unwanted developments. Garegin the Second also urged the representatives of the law enforcement system to provide all necessary conditions for the holding of fair elections and the free expression of the Armenian people.

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On May 26, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Armenia for 1 hour. He signed several documents with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan at the airport and immediately left Armenia.

One of the documents signed by Ararat Mirzoyan and Marco Rubio was the framework memorandum between the Republic of Armenia and the United States of America on supply assurance in the field of extraction and processing of important minerals and rare minerals.

As mentioned memoThe aim of the participants is to support both countries to ensure the resilience and security of critical minerals supply chains, including extraction, separation and processing in their respective territories. Participants also intend to cooperate with third parties, as appropriate, to ensure the security of supply chains and to use existing cooperation mechanisms.

Narine Kirkakosyan, co-founder of “Eco-media” network It is not clear why they attach so much importance to the signed memorandum.

“I can say that this is another bubble, like the “Trump Way”, this is also a branch of it. I am reading the memorandum posted on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. First of all, it is a framework memorandum, that is, this document is about the possibility that they may sign another cooperation document. But this is still a framework memorandum between RA and the United States, it is stated that they will cooperate in the field of supply of “important materials and minerals extraction and processing, that is, they are only talking about supply, this may be related to uranium.” There is nothing new here, the phrase “because” is mentioned several times in that memorandum, as Nikol Pashinyan likes to repeat his chants, here the phrase is also repeated in the column and some sentences are written.” of 168.am Narine Kirakosyan said in a conversation with

According to him, the memorandum published on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions important minerals, he read it and tried to understand what kind of important minerals it is talking about, because not a single mineral is written about. It is presented only about the delivery, which will be “Trump’s way”.

“Here it becomes clear that Armenia can become a road “underfoot” with this document.

On the other hand, if you look back at the history of Armenia over the centuries, Armenia has always been a “silk road”, and if it was and this is another memorandum connecting it with Asia, we can say that now it will become a transit route for minerals, but what minerals are we talking about, it is not clear: uranium, molybdenum, we don’t know.

There is also talk about the recycling and reproduction of the waste, which could be the uranium used by the nuclear power plant. According to them, the United States can build modular nuclear power plants for us and waste processing can be connected with it. However, we still do not have those small modular nuclear power plants all over the world, we have not even passed the licensing. Now China is testing a small nuclear power plant, and other countries, France, the United States, are still in the working phase to get a license.

It is not by chance that I do not say everything in scientific language, I want it to be clear for people that this is another bubble document. If the government in RA changes, the next government will come and say: “Brother, davai dosvidanie”, we are not signing, this does not mean that we are worsening our relations with the United States”, added Narine Kairakosyan.

Our interlocutor also emphasized that there is nothing about Amulsar in this document.

“Rubio’s visit here and the signed memorandum only express political support to the authorities of the day.

One more thing: American politics has nothing to do with environmental protection, they do not join any international convention, they follow their own policy. Whether it is good or bad, this is their problem, but their only problem here is that what is important is good for their country, other people’s fathers be damned.

For example, they don’t think that by bombing neighboring Iran, what environmental damage they cause. Or they come, they open a gold mine in Jermuk, this is important for them, not to extract gold, but to have a presence here and push Russia out. We also had a mine in Sotku, they took it and gave it to the enemy, I think the British are using it now, or the other mines in Artsakh.

I think this is another memorandum of the conflict of interests of different big countries, which does not speak to the policies of China, Iran, Russia, and the EU. And it’s another document with which this government drags us into geopolitical conflicts,” emphasized Narine Kirakosyan.

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