MicroFinanza Rating (MFR) (Italy), an independent international rating company, has assigned Farm Credit Armenia UCO an Institutional rating geade of α-Low , and a Gold level certificate in terms of Client Protection Certification.

The rating assignment was preceded by a six-month assesment and evaluation process, which included a review of the cooperative’s all procedures and  performances (operational and financial).

In his message Ivan Sanino, Head of Rating Committee, has stated, that the assigned grade is the result of a thorough discussion within the Rating Committee.

The client protection principles that form the basis of the Certification include: appropriate product design and delivery, prevention of over-indebtedness, transparency, responsible pricing, fair and respectful treatment of clients, privacy, security, and integrity of client data, and mechanisms for complaint resolution. We would note that this certification was supported by the international investor PROPARCO.

Head of MFR Certification Committee, Joris Crisà in his official certification letter wrote the following congratulations: “The GOLD level is the highest level of achievement and signifies that the certified institution meets the most rigorous standards of client protection found in the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management. From our side, we would like to express how rewarding it has been to accompany the institution throughout this process and we congratulate the entire Farm Credit Armenia team”.

Farm Credit Armenia is the only credit cooperative in the Republic of Armenia and in the region, which is providing mostly agriculture and SME loans. The cooperative was founded in 2007 by 57 farmers; currently the number of members-shareholders of the cooperative is near to 10,000. The total equity of the credit cooperative is 2.3 billion AMD, the assets are 14.9 billion AMD.