The British bank announced in February that it will sell the HSBC Armenia unit to the country’s leading bank, Ardshinbank, in line with its “strategy to redeploy capital from less strategic or low-connectivity businesses into higher-growth opportunities globally.”

Ardshinbank confirmed the sale in a separate statement. Its chief executive promised a “smooth and fluid transition” for HSBC Armenia’s 30,000 or so customers. Neither side has disclosed the terms of the deal subject to regulatory approvals.

In a statement, the Central Bank said its governing board “gave a preliminary consent” to the acquisition at a meeting held on Tuesday.

Established in 1996, HSBC Armenia is the only local commercial bank controlled by a major Western banking group. It currently has total assets worth 290 billion drams ($720 million) and around 200 billion drams in customer deposits.

HSBC Armenia’s net profit rose from 8 billion drams in 2022 to over 11 billion drams ($27 million) last year. By comparison, Ardshinbank reported nearly 63 billion drams in earnings in 2023.

Reuters reported in May 2023 that HSBC is considering a possible exit from as many as a dozen countries after earlier announcements about selling off parts or all of its activities in France, Canada, Russia and Greece. HSBC completed the sale of its French retail business to CCF on January 1, 2024 days after Canada approved the acquisition of the bank’s Canadian business by Royal Bank of Canada.