Central Bank chairman to attend Black Sea Trade and Development Bank meeting

Armenian Central Bank Chairman Artur Javdyan will attend the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank's (BSTDB) governing board meeting due in Thessaloniki, Greece, on December 4-6, the Central Bank's press service reported.

The meeting will be devoted to the 2011-14 mid-term strategy and business plans, amendments to the board of directors procedures, revision of the code of conduct, etc.

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank was founded by the 11 member states of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey, Ukraine) on the basis of a 1997 agreement entered into force in 1999.

Armenia has a 1% share in the bank's capital.

The bank's objective is to promote its member states' economic development through regional cooperation, particularly, through funding the public and private sectors.

Since 1999, the BSTDB has funded 169 projects, with a total amount of $2.1 billion.

The bank has been providing loans to Armenian organizations since 2004. So far, it has funded eight manufacturing, three financial and one trade company at a total cost of $73 million. Its loans provided to banks were directed to crediting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), while the sums allocated to manufacturing and trade organizations were spent on business expansion and reconstruction.

As of late 2009, the bank's loan portfolio comprised $891 million.