YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, NOYAN TAPAN. There is no banking system as such in Armenia, economist Eduard Aghajanov said at the August 30 press conference. He said that the most important index characterizing a banking system is the level of the system's financial mediation in the economy. According to E. Aghajanov, official statistics show that the ratio of the crediting by the Armenian banking system/GDP makes about 9%, including consumer credits. The ratio of investment credits to GDP makes 7-8%. The economist noted that the Armenian banks "get awfully big profits" not from crediting the economy but through fulfilment of other banking functions. This is the reason why foreign banks take interest in the RA market of banking services.

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