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The draft was debated with the CB (Central Bank) three years ago, and then the debate went a long way. “We propose to limit the provision of mortgage loans in foreign currency with the draft . ” This was stated by the Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs Gevorg Papoyan, during the working debate organized on February 17 regarding the draft law on Amending Law on Currency Regulation and Currency Control authored by him and the MPs Arusyak Manavazyan and Narek Grigoryan. It should be noted that the bill was passed in the first reading a few days ago.

Deputies, the CB Governor Martin Galstyan and other representatives from the CB, members of the Government, representatives of the banks and credit organizations participated in the working debate.

The Committee Chair mentioned that the debate of the draft was stopped for some time, but later it was resumed, which was based on the protection of the interests and rights of the consumers and the risks that the state may face.

Gevorg Papoyan clarified that the proposed limitation is not something new: it is already applied to consumer loans.

The participants expressed their views and concerns about the draft, which were clarified by the draft co-author Gevorg Papoyan and the CB Governor Martin Galstyan.

Some of the opposition members believed that if the draft is adopted, citizens will be deprived of the opportunity to elect, and the interest rates of mortgage loans in AMD will increase. According to some experts, what was published in the press, the draft contains some elements against the Constitution. This point of view was denied by the Deputy Minister of Justice Armenuhi Harutyunyan, noting that there is no provision in the draft that could be against the Constitution.

The NA Head Committee, the CB Council, the Government, and the Economic Bloc were in favor of the full adoption of the draft. The c ommercial banks were not against either. The r epresentatives of the credit organizations had some concerns, among which the representative of First Mortgage Company believed that if the proposal is adopted, credit organizations cannot compete with the banks and will be left out of the market. It is proposed to bring the law into force 1 year after its adoption.

The CB Governor Martin Galstyan stated that mortgage loans are of long-term nature, 20 years on average, during which the risks that may arise are huge. Statistics show that during crises, non-payment of mortgage loans in foreign currency is 3 times more than in case of dram loans. Experience has shown that in many cases people could not pay foreign currency mortgage loans and were deprived of their apartments.

Martin Galstyan stated that the CB supports this draft, taking into consideration the social component contained in it. “ I think it has a positive impact on our compatriots, ” he underlin ed. CB The Governor also clarified that the claims that many citizens earn their salaries in foreign currency are not true. He noticed that the employees of the IT sector are pointed out as income of foreign currency, but this is not the case: salaries are paid in drams in large companies of the field.

The Deputy Minister of Finance Avag Avanesyan also highlighted the adoption of the draft from the viewpoint of both financial stability and protection of consumer rights. It was noted that the Government's opinion on the draft is positive. The r epresentatives of the banking system are not against the draft proposed by the deputies either. They also believe that with the adoption of the draft, banks will be under risk, not consumers. The specialist s in banking sector believe that consumers cannot assess and manage risks that well, but they can.

Summing up, Gevorg Papoyan thanked for the concerned debate.