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Armenia’s Financial Sector Sees Significant Growth

Yerevan, Armenia - Over the past decade, Armenia’s financial sector has experienced significant growth. The number of mortgage loans, banking cards, and insurance contracts per 1,000 adults has increased substantially.

Key Indicators

Number of mortgage loans per 1,000 adults: 91 in 2007 to 610 in 2016
Number of banking cards per 1,000 adults: 91 in 2007 to 610 in 2016
Number of insurance contracts signed during the year: around 300 in 2016 (up from 25 in 2010)

Insurance Sector Growth

The insurance sector has also experienced growth, thanks to the 2011 reform of compulsory third-party motor liability insurance. The number of insurance contracts per 1,000 adults increased from 91 in 2007 to 610 in 2016.

Remittances

Remittances are another important source of income for Armenian households. In 2016, the volume of remittances received from abroad totaled $1,330 million (or around 13% of GDP). According to a household survey conducted by the Central Bank of Armenia in 2008:

Over a third of households were receiving remittances
Nearly a third of senders were remitting to more than one household

Technology and Mobile Banking

Technology has also played a significant role in the development of Armenia’s financial system. The use of mobile and Internet banking transactions is on the rise, with quantities and volumes growing exponentially since 2012.

SMEs and Entrepreneurship

The country’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are also thriving. There are around 70,000 SMEs employing 302,001 people or around 68% of the total number of employed. Armenia’s OECD SME policy index score was 3.53 in 2016, above the average for countries in the region.

Challenges

Despite these positive trends, there are still challenges facing the financial sector, including:

Lack of transparency in the real sector
Limited access to finance for SMEs

Figure 11: Number of Mortgage Loans per 1,000 Adults
Figure 12: Penetration of Banking Cards
Figure 13: Number of Insurance Contracts per 1,000 Adults
Table 4: Channels of Money Transfers
Table 5: Accounts, Terminals, and Transactions
Figure 14: OECD SME Policy Index Score for Armenia