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Unibank has listed Armenia’s first-ever perpetual bonds on the Armenia Securities Exchange (AMX) following a $26 million issuance that was fully placed within days, highlighting strong investor demand for strategic capital instruments.
The December 2025 offering comprised three tranches of perpetual bonds and was completed ahead of schedule as demand significantly exceeded supply. The securities are now available for manual and repo trading on AMX, adding liquidity to a product previously unavailable in Armenia.
Perpetual bonds — instruments with no fixed maturity date — are widely used by banks to create robust capital buffer and diversify funding sources. Their introduction marks a structural step forward for Armenia’s domestic capital market.
Unibank’s AMD-denominated bonds offer a fixed coupon of 13.75% per annum for the first three years, resetting thereafter to the three-month Armenian government bond yield curve plus 6.5%. The USD-denominated bonds offer a fixed coupon of 8.3% during the initial three-year period, following which the coupon will reset on a quarterly basis to the 90-day SOFR plus 4%. The bonds got an option for the bank to call them for early repayment after the fifth year. The Deposit Guarantee Fund of Armenia insures investments in perpetual bonds in the same way as bank deposits.
Commenting on the issuance, Mesrop Hakobyan, chairman of the management board of Unibank, stated that the successful placement demonstrates growing market sophistication: “The introduction of perpetual bonds reflects both regulatory progress and investor readiness for more advanced capital instruments. The success of this issuance reflects growing confidence among domestic and international investors in the banking sector and in the overall development of Armenia’s capital market."
Unibank has placed 30 bond issues to date, with total bonds listed on AMX exceeding $120 million. The bank is among the most active issuers on the exchange and has consistently broadened Armenia’s capital market toolkit. At the AMX Awards, it was named “Best Equity Issuer on the Exchange” and “Best in Secondary Equity Market.”
“We are seeing increasing interest in the country's financial instruments, supported by macroeconomic stability, prudent fiscal policy and ongoing market reforms. The introduction of more sophisticated instruments such as perpetual bonds demonstrates that the investment environment is maturing and aligning with international standards. We believe Armenia offers compelling opportunities for investors and see substantial potential for further enhancing the attractiveness of the local capital market,” said Mesrop Hakobyan.
Armenia’s macroeconomic backdrop has further supported investor sentiment. According to preliminary data, Armenia’s GDP reached 7.2% in 2025, while annual inflation stood at 3.3%, providing relative stability for investors. The strongest growth was recorded in construction (21%), information and communications (18.6%), and finance and insurance (14.7%), while industrial production increased by 4.7% year-on-year.
Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Armenia's Long-Term Foreign-Currency (LTFC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Positive from Stable and affirmed the IDR at BB-. The Outlook revision reflects Armenia's higher international reserves and continued solid growth that will support fiscal consolidation consistent with debt stabilization over the medium term.
Unibank became the first bank in Armenia to conduct an IPO, listing its shares in 2015. Since then, the bank has raised about $70 million in equity capital. The bank has around 400 minority shareholders. The free float of its preferred shares exceeds the requirements for the Main (highest) Listing category of the AMX. Specifically, the free float of Class B preferred shares exceeds 17%, while the free float of Class C preferred shares stands at 86%.
Unibank has demonstrated steady growth in dividend distributions in recent years. The bank paid $11 million in dividends for 2023. The payout nearly doubled to $21 million for 2024, while the dividend distribution for 2025 is projected to increase by a further 20%.
Under the bank’s dividend policy, the target payout ratio is set at no less than 25% of the previous year’s net profit. In practice, this reflects the Bank’s strong commitment to shareholder returns while preserving sufficient capital to support sustainable growth and long-term strategic development.
For 2025, Unibank reported net profit of $30 million, up 38% year-on-year. Return on assets stood at 2.9%, while return on equity reached 21.6%, positioning the bank among the higher-return institutions in the domestic market.
Moody’s upgraded Unibank’s long-term deposit rating to B1 with a stable outlook, citing improved asset quality, profitability, and capital efficiency.
The bank serves more than 350,000 clients through 50 branches and 400 sales points. Key growth drivers include card products, residential mortgages, POS financing, supported by AI-based credit scoring technologies, and micro, and SME lending.
International money transfers remain a core business line. In 2024, Unibank launched UBPay, an Armenian payment and settlement system focused on instant cross-border transfers. Today, UBPay holds a significant share of Armenia’s money transfer market, handling about one-third of all transactions in the country. The system provides an intuitive API, allowing banks and money transfer companies to easily integrate transfer services and ensure smooth and reliable transactions.
Digital banking plays a central role in Unibank’s long-term strategy. Over the past two years, the number of digital clients has grown more than threefold.
The bank is actively implementing new technologies such as biometric identification services for mobile app onboarding and online lending, including POS loans within the digital ecosystem. Looking ahead, Unibank plans to further enhance the mobile app by integrating artificial intelligence–driven features and personalized financial insights.
Unibank’s trading platform, Unibank Invest, provides clients with access to major international exchanges, including NYSE, NASDAQ, LSE and XETRA, as well as OTC instruments. Clients can execute trades through the mobile app and the web-based terminal, which offers a customizable workspace for managing investments.
Unibank Invest also provides personalized advisory services, offering investment recommendations and helping clients build portfolios tailored to their financial goals and prevailing market conditions.
Unibank operates in full compliance with international regulatory standards and best practices in corporate governance, risk management, and financial transparency. Unibank’s majority shareholder is UniHolding GG Limited, a Cyprus-based company operating under European corporate and regulatory frameworks.
About Unibank
Unibank is one of Armenia’s leading technology-driven banks, committed to delivering innovative financial services that meet the evolving needs of its customers. It offers comprehensive retail and business banking services, along with Private Banking solutions tailored to high-value clients. To learn more, please visit www.unibank.am.
Media Contact
Lusine Khachatryan
lusine.khachatryan@unibank.am
+374 10 712222
