On June 12, the Competition Protection Commission of Armenia approved the merger between Ardshinbank and HSBC Bank Armenia, allowing Ardshinbank to acquire HSBC Bank Armenia, which had previously announced its exit from the Armenian market.
The Commission stated that the merger would not reduce competition or harm consumer interests. The parties agreed that Ardshinbank would acquire 100% of the shares of HSBC Bank Armenia, which are owned by HSBC Europe BV.
On February 6 of this year, Ardshinbank announced an agreement with HSBC Europe BV, a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc, to acquire its subsidiary, HSBC Bank Armenia.
It was stated that the merger aims to expand Ardshinbank's high-quality customer base and enhance its team of skilled client managers and employees.
In turn, HSBC Bank Armenia explained that the decision was made to reallocate capital towards global priorities.
The Armenian financial sector does not see anything tragic in HSBC Bank's departure from Armenia. The President of the Union of Banks of Armenia, Daniel Azatyan, explained that in recent years, HSBC has adopted a policy of relocating its capital to larger financial centers and focusing on other markets.
"Since 2021, HSBC has exited seven countries, including its retail business in France, the USA, and Greece. It is important to note that such changes do not happen in a week or ten days. These processes are discussed and planned for a very long time, adhering to international standards. It is a long and complex task," Azatyan said at a press conference in February 2024.
As of December 31, 2023, HSBC Armenia's assets amounted to approximately 290 billion drams (over $743 million), its loan portfolio was around 185 billion drams (over $474 billion), and customer deposits were about 200 billion drams (over $512 million).
According to ARKA agency's ranking, Ardshinbank was the most profitable bank in Armenia based on 2023 performance. The bank's net profit was 62.7 billion drams (over $160 million), compared to 62.2 billion drams (about $159 million) in 2022, a growth of 0.7%.
HSBC Bank Armenia ranked 8th in terms of profit for 2023, with 11.05 billion drams (over $25 million), a 37.86% increase from 2022.
At the end of 2023, Ardshinbank was among the top three banks in key metrics: assets (1st place) at 1.6 trillion drams (over $4.1 billion) (4.9% growth from the beginning of the year), liabilities (1st place) at 1.4 trillion drams (over $3.5 billion) (2.17% growth), total capital (2nd place) at 191.3 billion drams (over $490 million) (31.5% growth), and loan investments (2nd place) at 671.6 billion drams (over $1.7 billion) (26.4% growth).
