Retail base rate

RBR general information

AMD Retail Base Rate (RBR)

USD Retail Base Rate (RBR)

EUR Retail Base Rate (RBR)

GBP Retail Base Rate (RBR)

RBR regulations

Retail Base Rate RBR (hereinafter RBR) calculations and future modifications are based on primary and secondary reference rates* defined by the Bank.

First of all, RBR is defined based on the primary reference rate, and is equal to the primary reference rate as of the setup date. 

The secondary reference rate is used only when the primary reference rate is not available and it becomes impossible to define the RBR for the next period. 

RBR review periodicity

RBR is subject to semi-annual review by the Bank on February 25 and August 25. If the above mentioned dates are non-working days, then the proceeding business day is considered as review day.

Rule of RBR value change when the reference rate is unchanged

RBR is subject to change in case the difference between the effective RBR and calculated reference rate on the review date is equal to or greater than 0.5 percentage point. In this case RBR is matched to the new reference rate. Otherwise, the RBR remains unchanged. 

RBR definition rules when the reference rate changes

If the primary reference rate is not available on the review date or it becomes impossible to define the RBR for the upcoming period, the RBR is calculated based on the secondary reference rate. In this case RBR is defined through the secondary indicators of the current and previous periods, adjusted by the difference between the secondary and primary reference rates as of the previous review (adjustment index). The set adjustment index is applied to all future revisions until the primary reference rate is restored or becomes available again. The RBR future review periodicity and value changes remain unaffected and are regulated as described above.

In case the primary reference rate recovers or becomes available on the successive review date, then the RBR setup is shifted to the primary reference rate despite the availability of the secondary reference rate. The RBR equals to the primary reference rate value. The RBR future review periodicity and value changes remain unaffected and are regulated as described above.

RBR notification and usage rules

In case of RBR change/adjustment the Bank is obliged to inform customers at least one month prior the new RBR effective date by sending individual notifications. The RBR changed as a result of February or August review cannot become effective later than correspondingly May 15 and November 15 of the same year. If no change has occurred as a result of the review, then the respective information is published on the Bank’s website. 

* See primary and secondary reference rate section of each currency 

Effective from: 12.03.2020

RBR explanatory note

As of 26.08.2024, according to Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) publication, the weighted average of AMD retail deposit rates of the Republic of Armenia (RA) banking sector- with maturity of 181 days to 1 year for June and July 2024 is 9.1%. Thus, the primary reference rate, calculated as the simple average of the latest available 2-month data as of 26.08.2024 is equal to 9.1%.

Taking into consideration that, as of the review date, the difference between the effective RBR (9.0%) and the calculated reference rate does not exceed 0.5 percentage points, the value of the RBR as a result of the review stays unchanged for the next period and is set at 9.0%.

AMD RBR primary reference rate is the weighted average of AMD retail deposit rates attracted solely by RA banking sector with maturity of 181 days to 1 year, calculated as simple average of the latest available 2 months’ observations as of the review date, rounded to one decimal place (e.g. 8.23 would be considered as 8.20, 8.48 as 8.50; and 8.65 as 8.70).

The information regarding interest rates is public and always available on the CBA website¹. See the publication: 'Volumes and interest rates of deposits attracted from and loans extended to real sector by commercial banks'.

The primary reference rate is subject to semi-annual review by the Bank on February 25 and August 25 (or on proceeding business day) based on the data of latest available 2 months of observations published by the CBA but not later than of 6 month old observations (acceptable period). Publications containing data of 6 months and older are considered not available.

Reference rate explanatory note

Primary reference rate. As per RBR review date on 26.08.2024 the latest data available in the CB RA publication “Volumes and interest rates of deposits attracted from and loans extended to real sector by commercial banks” is as of June and July 2024. Taking into consideration that as per the publication, the weighted average of AMD retail deposit rates of RA banking sector - with maturity of 181 days to 1 year for the mentioned 2 months is 9.07% and 9.14% respectively, the primary reference rate, calculated as the simple average of available latest 2-month data as of 26.08.2024 is set at 9.1%.

The secondary reference rate is being used for AMD RBR calculation only when the primary reference rate is not available and it becomes impossible to define the primary reference rate for the upcoming period. Thereafter the RBR is being based on the secondary reference rate. In case the primary reference rate recovers or becomes available on the successive review date then the RBR setup is shifted to the primary reference rate despite the availability of the secondary reference rate.

AMD RBR secondary reference rate is the weighted average of AMD retail and corporate (excluding interbank deposits) deposit rates of Armenian banking sector, being the simple average of up to 1 year and 1 year plus buckets and calculated as simple average of the latest available 2 months’ observations as of the review date. The reference rate is rounded to one decimal place (e.g. 8.23 would be considered as 8.20, 8.48 as 8.50; and 8.65 as 8.70).

The information regarding interest rates is public and always available on the CBA website¹. See the publication: 'Interest rate of deposits attracted by commercial banks (monthly)'.

The reference rate is subject to semi-annual review by the Bank on February 25 and August 25 (or on proceeding business day) based on the data of latest available 2 months of observations published by the CBA but not later than of 6 month old observations (acceptable period). Publications containing data of 6 months and older are considered not available.

Reference rate explanatory note

Secondary reference rate (published for informational purposes only). As per the RBR review on 26.08.2024 the latest data available in the CBA publication on "Interest rates of deposits attracted by commercial banks (monthly)" is as of June and July 2024. Taking into consideration that, as of the review date, the simple average of AMD retail and corporate deposit rates of the RA banking sector with up to 1 year and 1 year plus buckets is 8.88% ((8.25% + 9.50%)/2) for June 2024 and 8.95% ((8.33% + 9.57%)/2) for July 2024, the secondary reference rate, calculated as the simple average of data available for the latest 2 months and rounded to one decimal place as of 26.08.2024 is set at 8.9%.

Unavailability of reference rates

The reference rates are considered not available under the circumstances listed below:

• The latest date of available observations exceeds the acceptable period setup by the Bank
• The publication of interest rate data on subject currency is discontinued
• In other cases, stipulated by the RA legislation

If primary and secondary reference rates become unavailable RBR will be defined on the basis of another similar reference rate proposed by the Bank exclusively based on CBA standards or legislation requirements.