The Armenian government has extended its economic support program for individuals with non-performing loans through August, September, and October 2025.
As noted by Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arsen Torosyan, as of September 9, the program has enrolled 5,715 beneficiaries, 789 of whom have already had their loans fully repaid.
“Analysis showed that 1,532 beneficiaries — or 27 percent — had no formal employment prior to joining the program. The average gross monthly salary of one beneficiary has reached approximately 201,000 drams, compared to about 145,000 drams among potential beneficiaries with formal employment before the program. This 56,000-dram increase (or 37 percent) may indicate a shift from informal to formal employment.
Those who were already employed have also seen their salaries increase. A total of 156 million drams has been allocated to cover the loans of the 789 fully repaid beneficiaries,” Torosyan stated.
According to the minister, there remains a strong need to continue the program. However, 540 participants were disqualified for failing to meet the minimum wage requirement. Currently, 4,381 individuals are actively participating in the program.
“Including this recent extension, we are allocating nearly 1 billion drams to the program. Notably, 500 million drams were spent over the past six months, and 525 million more will be spent over these three months, showing a rising expenditure trend,” Torosyan added.
Nevertheless, the minister emphasized that the program has not fully met its goals, considering the initial target was to reach 218,000 people.
“I want to call on our banking partners for help, as we don’t have individual data for these citizens. We only possess their public service numbers, which limits our ability to notify them proactively. Public awareness campaigns are our only tool — and we will intensify those — but if banks take initiative and reach out to customers with current or past loans via calls, emails, or invitations, this could help drive engagement,” Torosyan said.
He stressed that the program is crucial for clearing credit histories, improving creditworthiness, and boosting formal employment.
Responding to the minister, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Hovhannes Khachatryan said a deeper analysis is needed to understand the low participation in the program.
Torosyan recalled that 43,600 formally employed individuals were initially identified as potential beneficiaries.
“Even people with jobs, who could qualify and use their income tax to clear bad debt, are not applying,” he said.
