Early Warning System

Regions

Europe and Central Asia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Countries

Armenia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

May 12, 2026

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

ArmSwissBank CJSC

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Finance
Humanitarian Response
Industry and Trade

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 10.00 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.

Loan Amount (USD)

$ 10.00 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.

Project Cost (USD)

$ 10.00 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS May 31, 2026

Disclosed by Bank May 18, 2026

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the EBRD, the project consists of the provision of a senior loan to ArmSwissBank CJSC in the amount of up to USD 10m under the Armenia Refugee Response Window of the SME Competitiveness and Inclusion Programme in Eastern Partnership, to support refugee-owned and refugee-led businesses and encourage local firms to create employment opportunities for refugees and invest in their skills development, contributing to long-term inclusive impact.

The project aims to foster inclusive economic growth by supporting the entrepreneurial activities of refugees and displaced population, as well as incentivising local MSMEs to create employment opportunities for them. Aligned with the Programme's primary objective of helping MSMEs upgrade their operations to EU standards, the transaction will enable local companies to invest in modernising their production processes, with a particular focus on green technologies. These upgrades are expected to enhance the competitiveness of Armenian businesses in the European market, aiming to achieve at least 70% share of Green Economy Transition ("GET") aligned investments under the Programme.

The project includes a comprehensive technical cooperation support funded by the EU under the Programme. The objective of the technical cooperation is to assist financial intermediaries in Armenia, including ArmSwissBank, in successful implementation of the project, including marketing, pre and post finance assessment of sub-projects as well as general monitoring and reporting.

In addition, the loan is complemented by an EU-funded grant of EUR 2.4m, which will be allocated to eligible sub-borrowers as investment incentives. These incentives are designed to stimulate investments in technologies that meet EU standards, with a focus on sustainable and green technologies, while also supporting refugee-led businesses and promoting their integration into the local economy. The loan is further supported by a first-loss risk cover of up to EUR 0.9m, designed to partially compensate ArmSwissBank for potential losses on eligible sub-loans, thereby enhancing the bank's risk appetite for financing refugee-owned and led MSMEs. The FLRC will be provided by the EU under the "EU-EBRD Local Currency Programme".

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The EBRD categorized the project E&S risk as 'FI'.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Financial Intermediary

A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.

ARMSWISSBANK CJSC (Financial Intermediary)

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the EBRD, ArmSwissBank CJSCis a long-standing EBRD partner bank. It is the 10th largest bank in Armenia by total assets and the 11th by gross loan portfolio with 3.7% and 2.9% respective market shares as of YE2025.

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Financial Intermediary - ArmSwissBank CJSC:

Ara Makaryan
Email: info@armswissbank.am
Phone: +37460757000
Website: www.armswissbank.am

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html