Ardshinbank

Ardshinbank CJSC
Company type	Closed joint-stock company
Industry	Banking, Financial services
Founded	2002
Founder	Rasco-Armenia CJSC, Center for Business Investments LLC
Headquarters	Yerevan, Armenia
Area served	Armenia, International (representative office in Paris)
Key people	Karen Safaryan (Chairman)
Products	Project financing, plastic cards, e-banking, international money transfers, mortgage lending, payroll management programs
Number of employees	1,089 (2019)
Website	ashib.am

Ardshinbank CJSC () is an Armenian commercial bank officially registered as the "Industrial Construction Bank CJSC".

History

Established in 2002 and granted its banking license (no. 83) in February 2003, Ardshinbank originally operated under the name "Ardshininvestbank" until it adopted its current brand in November 2014. Functioning as a full-service financial institution, it specializes in providing project financing to major corporate clients within Armenia's key industries, especially the energy sector. In addition to serving small and medium-sized enterprises, the bank offers services such as issuing and managing plastic cards, e-banking solutions, international money transfers, mortgage lending, and payroll management programs. Ardshinbank is actively enhancing its electronic and mobile banking capabilities to ensure round-the-clock customer access.

The bank maintains sovereign credit ratings from Moody's and Fitch. It plays a significant role in Armenia’s securities market and government bond agency operations. Notably, Ardshinbank was the pioneer among private Armenian banks to issue US$100 million worth of eurobonds under RegS/144A regulations.

With a network of 60 branches across Armenia and a representative office located in Paris, Ardshinbank employed 1,089 personnel as of January 2019.

Founders and shareholders

Founders: “Rasco-Armenia” CJSC and “Center for Business Investments” LLC
Shareholders: Karen Safaryan, who holds full ownership of “Region” CJSC, the sole proprietor of “Arins Group” LLC (previously known as “Center for Business Investments” LLC until June 2017), along with various individual investors

Participation in the financial market

Ardshinbank holds membership in the Union of Banks of Armenia, the Armenian-Georgian Association of Business Cooperation, NASDAQ OMX ARMENIA OJSC, and the Association of Armenian Mortgage Market Participants. It is an affiliated member of MasterCard Europay, a principal member of Visa International payment system, a shareholder in the SWIFT International Financial Telecommunication System, Armenian Card CJSC, and participates in the Central Depository of Armenia’s settlement system.

Awards and recognition

Major accolades include:

2005 - Diploma from Citigroup for processing dollar payments through Citibank New York.
2005/2006 - Awarded Best Dealer for domestic debt management by Armenia’s Ministry of Finance and Economy alongside the Central Bank.
2009 - Certificate from MoneyGram International recognizing it as Armenia's most dependable bank.
2010 - Honors from Citibank and Commerzbank for excellence in USD and euro transfers.
2014 - Named “Bank of the Year” by The Banker magazine from the UK.
2015 - Recognized as "Best Bank in Armenia" by British publication Euromoney.
2016 - Awarded “Most Active Issuing Bank in Armenia” under the EBRD Trade Facilitation Program.
2017 - Received titles including “Safest Bank in Armenia” and “Best Foreign Exchange Provider” by Global Finance; also named “Best Bank in Armenia” by Global Finance; earned the Eikon platform’s “TFP Momentum Award” from Asian Development Bank.
2018 - Maintained status as “Safest Bank in Armenia” by Global Finance; acknowledged as “Most active partner” on Thomson Reuters’ Eikon platform.
2019 - Honored as “Best Bank in Armenia” by both Global Finance and The Banker; recognized as “Most Active Issuing Bank” by International Investment Bank.

Mergers and acquisitions

From March to May 2003, Ardshinbank took over significant assets and liabilities from OJSC “Ardshinbank,” which included 24 branch offices. Later, in November 2003, the bank expanded further by acquiring the majority of assets and operational infrastructure from OJSC “Agrobank,” incorporating an additional 35 branches into its network.

In 2016, Karen Safaryan, who serves as the chairman of Ardshinbank and holds full ownership through "Region" Finance Industrial Corporation CJSC, completed the acquisition of Areximbank-Gazprombank Group CJSC entirely from the Russian entity Gazprombank. This transaction resulted in the integration of Areximbank’s full branch system, consisting of 16 branches, into Ardshinbank’s existing structure.

References

Additional Links

External links

ashib.am Official site