Refinancing a loan is a great way to overcome financial difficulties or simply reduce costs, that is, to take the same loan under the most favorable conditions. With refinancing, you can get a loan with a larger amount, a longer term, a lower interest rate, reduce the amount of monthly repayments, combine several loans into one, etc. There are not many loan refinancing offers in the market, but they do exist. Ameriabank is running a loan refinancing campaign for borrowers who want to effectively manage their financial resources and time. We have found out from Ameriabank employees everything you would like to know about loan refinancing, and we will present everything to you in order. Today, the interlocutors of our reporter are Andranik Khachatryan, Head of the Department of Management of Territorial Divisions of "Ameriabank" CJSC, and Project Manager Ofelia Martirosyan.
Mr. Khachatryan, there is a difficult situation in the lending market. The issue of credit obligations of enterprises and individuals to financial institutions is constantly discussed among the public. How do you assess the current situation?
A difficult situation has arisen in Armenia, as well as in the entire post-Soviet area. Forecasts of a rapid economic recovery did not materialize, and we failed to reach pre-crisis indicators of GDP growth and economic activity. Moreover, in 2008-2009 Expectations to quickly overcome the crisis led to the fact that many entrepreneurs accumulated loans, but the situation of borrowers worsened sharply due to the decrease in economic growth rates and the decline in consumer demand. In some companies, the profit was reduced by 20-30%, and if we add to it dram devaluation and inflation by 15-20%, then it becomes clear that repayment of loans, especially in dollars, becomes problematic. I would like to note that unjustified optimistic expectations in a certain sense contribute to the growth of problem loans. Many people are constantly waiting for good times to come and the problem will be solved. However, in our opinion, those who can make decisions in any situation are successful. A new reality has been created, which may not be very favorable, but it is stable, and I think everyone has already come to terms with that new reality. We are used to difficulties and understand that even in a new environment you can be active, continue to grow and develop.
In the new situation, entrepreneurs have become more cautious, they do not take risks to start new projects and expand existing businesses.
Not only do they not take the risk to invest in the business, but too often having credit obligations, they are unable to service the additional credit burden and develop the business. We constantly monitor the identification of customer needs. And we know very well that customers' financial flows have changed, we understand that they need the bank's support and need new banking products with long-term and more competitive interest rates. Considering the current situation, as well as wanting to support the growth of economic activity, Ameriabank offered borrowers from other banks to refinance their loan in Ameriabank, giving them the opportunity to extend the loan period. This offer is valid until August 1, 2016 and applies to business loans, mortgages, consumer loans secured by real estate or car, non-revolving credit lines and overdrafts.
As a result of refinancing, the amount of monthly repayments of the loan decreases, and free resources appear, which can be directed to solving other problems. I would like to note that last year was very successful for us in terms of cooperation with international financial organizations. We almost doubled the bank's capital, thanks to which Ameriabank can now offer the best conditions to borrowers. Let me say right away that this offer is not aimed at customers who have problems with loan repayment. If the borrower's income is constantly decreasing and he is unable to service the loan, then other ways should be sought to solve this problem. We want to attract people who need new approaches to loans and their repayment, people whose income may have decreased, but remains stable. We are ready to offer those customers terms in which loan repayments correspond to their incomes, so the offer applies to loans with a service history of at least one year. Of course, during the continuation of this conversation, my colleagues will tell in more detail about the loan refinancing offer offered by Ameriabank. And I should mention that the product is aimed at people who want to combine loans, make a more convenient repayment schedule, reduce the amount of monthly repayments, that is, make loan servicing more convenient and efficient. I should also mention that refinancing can be combined with an increase in the amount of the loan, if there is such a need.
The next question is addressed to Ofelia Martirosyan.
I saw your ad for refinancing loans, Hypo and Bizo. In fact, Ameriabank also showed a creative approach in this area.
The characters of the advertising campaign were created after a long period of thought and discussion. We decided to take the risk. Let's imagine a family with a stable monthly income and a loan that requires 30% of the family's monthly income to be paid off. In the situation created as a result of currency devaluation, reduction of family income and inflation, a significant part of the family budget is spent on loan servicing, and there is a feeling that a new member of the family has appeared, for which quite a lot of money is spent. The picture is the same for small and medium-sized businesses, it seems that a new employee appears, to which a part of the budget needs to be allocated, despite the reduction of other expenses of the company. Thus was born the idea of expressing credit as a figure that consumes family and business funds. And we chose to create a light, cheerful and mischievous image that would evoke positive emotions and help convey to the public the main idea of our campaign: Ameriabank's offer eases the borrower's credit burden.
For an industry as serious as banking, creating such an image is a bold move.
Yes, the style in which the commercials of this campaign were created is very different from the image created by Ameriabank. We were even prepared to face criticism. But to our surprise and delight, the idea was loved by both our employees and the general public. And the names Hypo and Bizo (abbreviated versions of the words "mortgage" and "business loan"), as they say, were accepted by the people. And most importantly, after starting the advertising campaign, the sales volume exceeded all our expectations. And this means that we were able to successfully solve our problem - to show people that in fact a targeted and properly structured loan serves growth and development, helps to take advantage of the opportunities provided by life.
Thanks for the interesting information.
And tomorrow our conversation will be on a very popular topic: what small and medium businesses will benefit from within the refinancing of loans offered by Ameriabank.
Source: tert.am