The ratio of non-performing loans in Armenia's banking sector has increased by a small percentage, but it is not imminent with bringing instability in the country, said Andranik Grigoryan, the head of the Financial Stability and Development Department at a press conference held on September 30 at the Central Bank.

In July of 2016 the ratio of credits which were delayed in payment made 9.6% of the total loan portfolio. A year ago, in July of 2015, it made 8.6 percent. According to Grigoryan, it is determined by the fact that consumers delayed in payments of short-term loans for a few days or 1-2 weeks. Despite this, the payments have been staying as regular.

"We encountered with the similar situation before, but now it happens more often. The reason is that we have strict rules of reporting. If the payment is delayed for a day, the loan appears among non-standard loans. In many countries, the loans that have been paid within the 30 days after the deadline, do not pose risks. The point here is that we apply strict and conservative supervision to make sure that we implement prudential policies in this sphere," he said.