Armenia’s Bank IDBank opens Representative Office in Glendale, California

The Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System has approved the request of IDBank CJSC, a commercial bank based in Yerevan, Armenia, to establish a representative office in Glendale, California. IDBank applied for this approval under Section 10(a) of the International Banking Act of 1978, which requires foreign banks to obtain the Board’s permission before opening a representative office in the United States.

A public notice about the application was published in the Glendale News Press on November 9, 2024, giving interested people an opportunity to comment. The comment period has ended, and the Federal Reserve reported that no comments or objections were received.

About IDBank

IDBank is the 10th largest commercial bank in Armenia, with total assets of around $1.2 billion. The bank offers traditional banking services such as:

• Deposits
• Loans
• Investment products

It serves both corporate and individual customers. At present, IDBank does not have any branches or representative offices outside Armenia.

Ownership Structure

IDBank is fully owned by ID Group CJSC, also based in Yerevan. ID Group has total consolidated assets of $1.1 billion. In addition to IDBank, ID Group owns:

• Digital Holdings Limited LLC (a holding company)
• iDram LLC, a payment and settlement company in Armenia (owned indirectly through Digital Holdings and IDBank)

Purpose of the Glendale Representative Office

The approved Glendale office will not conduct banking activities. Instead, it will act as a liaison office, meaning it will:

• Communicate with existing and potential U.S. customers
• Promote and market IDBank’s products and services
• Handle certain back-office tasks

The office will not:

• Accept deposits
• Make credit decisions
• Make any binding decisions on behalf of the bank
• Engage in securities trading, foreign exchange, or money transfer activities
• Promote or solicit business for iDram LLC

These restrictions were voluntarily committed by IDBank as part of the application.

What are the Regulatory Requirements Reviewed by the US Federal Reserve?

When reviewing applications from foreign banks, the Federal Reserve considers whether:

1. The bank has provided all necessary information.
2. The bank and its parent company operate as banks in their home country.
3. The bank is properly supervised by its home-country regulator.

For representative offices, the supervision requirements are less strict than for full bank branches, since representative offices are not allowed to handle banking transactions such as deposit-taking or lending. The Board determined that IDBank meets the lower supervisory standard required for opening a representative office.