Insights & Research
Independent analysis from MB Consulting on Armenian capital markets, corporate finance, economic development, and the issues shaping our clients' decisions.
FEATURED INSIGHT
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
Resilience for Lake Sevan: Leveraging the Economic Value of Ecosystem Services for Strategic Pollution Control Investments in Armenia
Published by Asian Development Bank | December, 2025
We are pleased to share that our work was published as knowledge product at Asian Development Bank publications: “Resilience for Lake Sevan: Leveraging the Economic Value of Ecosystem Services for Strategic Pollution Control Investments in Armenia.”
Valuing Lake Sevan’s ecosystem services at approximately $397 million annually, the publication assesses eutrophication risks, amplified by climate change, and evaluates three wastewater treatment scenarios as critical solutions for preserving both the lake’s tangible and intangible value. We appreciate the strong collaboration and partnership with the Asian Development Bank team in translating economic and environmental analysis into practical, investment-ready priorities for Armenia
LATEST INSIGHTS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
Bridging the Gap Between Climate Adaptation Planning and Financing in Armenia's Transport Sector
Work done for Asian Development Bank and Ministry for Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of RA | January 2026
MB Consulting's analysis for the Asian Development Bank under TA-10098 REG quantifies climate-related flooding, rockfalls, and landslides risk. The analysis estimated that currently these risks amount approximately USD 10.4 million in annual expected losses across Armenia's road network, and projected to rise to USD 29.7 million under climate change high-emissions scenarios.
The risk analysis underlying this work is presented in interactive form on MB Consulting's road sector risk map. The map allows exploration of flood-prone points, rockfall-prone segments, and landslide sites across the analyzed network, with hazard severity and adaptation priority visualised at the asset level.
LATEST INSIGHTS
FINANCIAL SERVICES & CAPITAL MARKETS
Investment companies series | Q1 2026 Updates
MB Consulting's Q1 2026 review of the Armenian investment company sector covers 22 institutions across asset size, capitalization, profitability, and growth, providing a structured snapshot of a sector that grew aggregate assets to USD 829.6 million while displaying significant performance dispersion among participants.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Armenian investment landscape continues to show dynamic shifts as we close out the first quarter of 2026. While the sector has seen a massive 61.9% YoY surge in total equity, reaching $319.4 million, overall net profit growth faced a slight decline, dipping 3.5%.
Asset growth was led by Wilco LLC with a massive 1,066% YoY increase, followed by New Venture Brokerage (+274%), Sirius Capital CJSC (+256%), Freedom Broker Armenia (+75%), and Invia Investments (+74%).
Freedom Broker Armenia remains the most profitable player, generating nearly USD 10 million in net profit in Q1 2026, though earnings declined YoY despite very high returns.
Cube Invest and Armbrok Investment Company continue to combine scale with stable profitability, both delivering solid profit growth.
Apricot Capital CJSC recorded the strongest headline growth, driven by a turnaround from losses to profitability.
Sirius Capital CJSC and New Venture Brokerage maintain exceptionally high ROE levels, highlighting strong efficiency among smaller scale players.
Overall, the sector shows strong expansion, but uneven profitability dynamics, with performance increasingly concentrated among a few firms.
Concentration remains high. Armbrok, Cube Invest, and Freedom Broker together account for the majority of sector assets, with a long tail of smaller firms holding under USD 5 million in assets each.
Methodology
ROA and ROE figures are based on trailing twelve months (TTM) data. Net profit comparisons use Q1 2026 versus Q1 2025 for the year-over-year growth calculation. Sources: Companies' published quarterly statements (Q1 2026, non-audited). Exchange rates applied: 377.16 AMD/USD for current-period figures, 378.18 AMD/USD for Q1 2026 net profit, and 395.34 AMD/USD for Q1 2025 net profit comparisons. Sector averages for ROE, ROA, and leverage represent averages across the 22 investment companies; sector growth metrics for assets, equity, and net profit are calculated on aggregated totals.
FINANCIAL SERVICES & CAPITAL MARKETS
Banking series | Q1 2026 Updates
Across 17 banks, balance sheets are expanding at a double-digit pace while reported profits are flattening. MB Consulting's Q1 2026 review of the Armenian banking sector covers the full set of institutions, examining asset growth, capitalization, profitability, and the divergence between balance sheet expansion and bottom-line performance.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Balance sheet expansion continues, but profit growth is flattening. Sector aggregate assets grew 16.6% year-over-year to $34.9 billion and aggregate equity rose 21.1% to $6.1 billion, while net profit totaled $273.6 million, up just 2.5% YoY.
Sector-level returns remain strong by international standards. TTM ROE settled at 16.7% and ROA at 3.1%, reflecting continued profitability despite the slowdown in earnings growth.
Ardshinbank remains the largest bank by assets at $7.4 billion and posted sector-leading ROE of 33.3% on a TTM basis.
Ameriabank, the second-largest bank at $6.4 billion, grew assets by 29.1% YoY — an unusually strong pace for an institution at that scale, reflecting ongoing strategic positioning.
Fast Bank led the sector on asset growth at 53.8% YoY, more than three times the sector average.
Converse Bank was the only bank with declining assets at -3.7% YoY, though profitability stayed resilient with net profit growth of 7.0%.
AMIO Bank's profit recovery brought it closer to sector-average returns, with net profit growth of 550.9% YoY off a low Q1 2025 base.
Methodology
ROA and ROE figures are based on trailing twelve months (TTM) data. Net profit comparisons use Q1 2026 versus Q1 2025 for the year-over-year growth calculation. Sources: Banks' published quarterly statements (Q1 2026, non-audited). Exchange rates applied: 377.16 AMD/USD for current-period figures, 378.18 AMD/USD for Q1 2026 net profit, and 395.34 AMD/USD for Q1 2025 net profit comparisons. Sector averages for ROE and ROA represent averages across the 17 banks; sector growth metrics for assets, equity, and net profit are calculated on aggregated totals.