According to surveys, half of those who arrived from abroad intend to stay in Armenia for at least one year, the governor of the Central Bank told this to a press conference Tuesday.

Martin Galstyan added that if this is accompanied by the transfer of their deposits from the "upon demand" category to the "urgent" category, Armenia can expect a certain increase in certain types of loans given by the country’s commercial banks.

Galstyan noted that the additional income received by Armenia’s commercial banks has enabled them to take a soft approach in terms of raising lending interest rates.

Since December 2020, the refinancing rate in Armenia has increased from 4.25 percent to 10.75 percent, and the increase in interest rates in the country’s commercial banks, according to him, was more modest, which is due to strong competition and high revenues received from servicing non-residents in conditions of high external demand.