ArmInfo. VTB Bank (Armenia) for 2018 granted amnesty to fines and penalties to individual customers for a total amount of up to 3 billion drams. As the press service of VTB Bank (Armenia) told ArmInfo, as a result, in 2018, fines and penalties for more than 4,600 loans of 4,000 customers were written off.
According to the source, the debt forgiveness process involved the conclusion of settlement agreements with customers who have overdue loans at the bank for the remaining amount of debt and the provision of a new repayment schedule for up to 5 years. This applies to the following types of loans: cash loans without collateral; cash loans secured by real estate; Pos loans; credit lines; loans secured by gold products; credit cards.
The bank explained that the mandatory condition for forgiveness of penalties and fines was: the presence of more than 271 overdue days; recognition of loans hopeless on the date of May 31, 2018; the first payment under the new schedule at the time of the conclusion of the settlement agreement.
To note, in July 2, 2018 Prime Minister held a meeting with bankers in the government of the Republic of Armenia in order to practically address the issue of concessions to fines and penalties on overdue loans. On the same day, ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank and Ameriabank announced the cancellation of fines and penalties on hopeless loans to individuals, and then IDBank (July 4), VTB Bank (Armenia) (July 4) and Ardshinbank (July 6) and Converse Bank (July 11) announced joining the process.
According to the Financial Rating of Banks of Armenia, as of October 1, 2018, prepared by ArmInfo IC, VTB Bank (Armenia) occupies the first position in terms of consumer credits - 114.4 billion drams or 51.2% of the total loan portfolio of the bank. On a yearly basis, the bank increased its consumer loan portfolio by 63.7%. The share of bad loans in the total loan portfolio of VTB Bank (Armenia) almost reaches 20% with an annual absolute value decline of 6.1%. In the structure of overdue loans, this category of risky loans dominates - 37.5%, against higher rates a year ago (74.5%). Of the total bad loans of the bank, the dominant mass is stuck in consumer loans (incl. Mortgage).
To recall, VTB Bank (Armenia) CJSC became a member of the VTB international financial group in April 2004. Currently, the second largest in Russia, "Bank VTB" PJSC owns 100% of VTB Bank (Armenia) shares. The bank traditionally ranks among the leaders of the banking system of the Republic of Armenia by major indicators. In terms of the coverage of its branch network, VTB Bank (Armenia) holds the lead - 67 branches with a presence both in the capital and in all regions of the country.