American JP Morgan Chase (the world's largest bank by market capitalization) is considering the possibility of establishing direct links with Armenian banks. This was reported by Sputnik Armenia, citing representatives of the Armenian and international banking industry who wished to remain anonymous.
According to them, negotiations are not yet concluded, but this bank is not discussing the possibility of opening correspondent accounts for Armenian banks for the first time.
Currently, only Citibank maintains correspondent accounts with Armenian banks among American banks (though, for many years already). This is particularly noteworthy considering that a few years ago, one of the largest German banks discontinued providing similar services: it was dissatisfied with the small volumes of the Armenian market and the insufficient income from it.
Several other European banks continue to provide correspondent account services to Armenian banks. Thanks to such accounts in US banks, local financial institutions will be able to reduce costs for dollar transactions (since there will be no intermediaries between them and the American financial system in the form of banks from third countries).
