Best bank 2025: Ameriabank
Ameriabank successfully secures the title of Armenia’s best bank, distinguished by impressive financial achievements and strategic initiatives in 2024. Over the year, the bank secured over $300 million in strategic partnerships, a testament to its robust fund-raising capabilities. This includes $200 million from the International Finance Corporation and €105 million from the European Investment Bank, specifically earmarked to bolster climate finance and support for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
Significantly, Ameriabank’s retail loan portfolio demonstrated strong growth, increasing by 42.3% year-on-year to reach Dram596 billion ($1.55 billion), with an exceptionally low stage three non-performing loan ratio of 0.9%. This figure reflects the bank’s effective credit risk management and commitment to financial health.
Total assets saw a notable increase of 33.6% year-on-year, amounting to Dram1.9 trillion in 2024, and the bank’s market share expanded to 17.1%. This growth underscores Ameriabank’s substantial impact and expanding influence within the Armenian banking sector.
In alignment with modern banking trends, Ameriabank has successfully embraced digital transformation. Over 99% of its transactions and more than 50% of its sales were conducted digitally in 2024. The bank’s dedication to digital innovation is further evidenced by the substantial uptake of the MyAmeria app, where monthly active usage by login and transactions surged by 51.3% and 46.3%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
These accomplishments collectively highlight Ameriabank’s forward-looking strategy, operational excellence, and commitment to enhancing both its technological footprint and its support for critical sectors of the Armenian economy.
Best digital bank 2025: Acba Bank
Acba Bank has firmly established itself as a leader in digital banking in Armenia, reflecting significant achievements throughout 2024 that merit its candidacy for Armenia’s best digital bank. The bank’s digital platform experienced remarkable growth, surpassing 560,000 registered users by the end of 2024, which marked a 38% increase in both mobile app usage and transaction volumes. This clear uptick in engagement highlights the effective enhancements and user-friendly features integrated into Acba Bank’s digital services.
In addition to mobile advancements, Acba’s multifunctional ATMs, branded as Acba Max, reported a striking 336% year-over-year growth in transactions. This exponential increase underscores the bank’s successful expansion and optimisation of its ATM network to better serve its customers’ needs. Last year also saw the introduction of 24/7 online account opening services for legal entities and entrepreneurs, substantially simplifying the process and enhancing accessibility for business customers. Furthermore, the introduction of real-time online access and approval for agricultural and business loan limits has streamlined credit processes, enabling more efficient and effective financial management for Acba’s clientele.
One of the most innovative endeavours launched by Acba Bank in 2024 was its referral-based financial inclusion programme, targeting rural communities. This initiative, developed in collaboration with the central bank, represents a strategic effort to extend digital banking’s reach and benefits into underserved regions, hence fostering broader economic inclusivity.
These developments collectively support Acba Bank’s standing as not only a digital leader in Armenia’s banking sector but also as a pivotal force in driving the digital transformation of the Armenian economy, making it a worthy winner of the accolade of Armenia’s best digital bank.
Best bank for ESG 2025: Acba Bank
Acba Bank has distinguished itself as a leader in Armenia’s banking sector through its robust commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, thereby securely earning its place as a frontrunner for Armenia’s best bank for ESG. In 2024, the bank not only revised its green lending framework but also developed a pioneering green bond framework, specifically to channel funding into environmentally sustainable projects. This strategic move was complemented by widening its exclusion list to restrict financing for industries detrimental to sustainability, such as fossil fuels and tobacco, among others.
Further demonstrating its dedication to environmental stewardship, Acba Bank undertook significant green initiatives, including the plantation of 160,000 trees in the Lori region and the construction of a 50kW solar power station for the SOS Children’s Village in Ijevan. These initiatives underscore the bank’s commitment not only to environmental sustainability but also to community support and development.
On an organisational level, the bank has internalised ESG principles across all its operations. This is evident from the comprehensive ESG training that both its employees and senior management completed in 2024. Remarkably, this training programme was also extended to small and medium enterprises, broadening the impact and integration of ESG standards within the local business ecosystem.
Mirroring its operational ethos in its physical infrastructure, Acba Bank is building a new LEED Gold-certified headquarters in Yerevan, which will open in 2025, demonstrating its commitment to energy efficiency and sustainable architectural design.
These concerted efforts not only reinforce Acba Bank’s role as a catalyst for ESG adoption in Armenia’s financial sector but also make it a deserving contender for the accolade of Armenia’s best bank for ESG.
