Ameriabank, Cascade Bank Merge

On March 31, Ameriabank (Ruben Vardanyan) and Cascade Bank (Gerard Gafeschian) signed a deal to merge the two banks.

At a joint press conference after the deal was sealed, Chair of the Management Board-General Director of Ameriabank Artak Hanesyan said that this merger was unprecedented in the Armenian finance market.

According to Hanesyan, the deal will include two stages and will be completed by the end of this year. The deal will see Ameriabank, with its financial indexes, in the top three banks in the Armenian banking system.

Based on December 31, 2009 data, the consolidated capital of these banks was $75 million USD, with a $397 million credit portfolio and liabilities worth $262 million USD.

Hanesyan said the Armenian banking system could possibly see some other mergers in the future too. In his words, Ameriabank does not limit itself with this deal: the bank is currently discussing and reviewing the possibilities of merging with or acquiring other banks.