Central Bank of Armenia holds rate at 6.5%: what it means for mortgages

What the Central Bank decided

At its meeting on 4 August 2026, the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia kept the refinancing rate at 6.5% per year. The Lombard repo rate stayed at 8% and the deposit facility rate at 5%.

The rate has been at 6.5% since December 2025, and this is the sixth decision in a row to leave it unchanged. Before that, the CBA had been cutting the rate since June 2023, when it stood at 10.75%.

Why there was no cut

The main reason is inflation above target. According to the CBA, annual inflation reached 5.1% in June 2026. Statistical Committee data published on 3 September show it slowed to 4.4% in August (4.5% in July). The 2026 state budget assumes inflation of 3% (±1 percentage point).

At the press conference, CBA Deputy Governor Hovhannes Khachatryan explained that the bank has not yet seen inflation expectations drift away from the target, so the rate was kept, but further decisions may differ, including a rise.

In its monetary policy outlook, the CBA notes that financial market participants on average expect the rate to stay at 6.5% over the coming year, while their expectations have shifted towards a higher path.

What it means for mortgages

• The decision itself does not trigger sharp changes in mortgage rates: the CBA rate has not moved.
• Do not count on loans getting cheaper soon: the market is not pricing in a cut right now.
• According to the Statistical Committee, the weighted average lending rate of commercial banks was 12.51% in July 2026, down from 13.18% in June. This is the average across all loans, not just mortgages.

Key points

• On 4 August 2026 the refinancing rate was kept at 6.5% for the sixth time in a row.
• Inflation is above target: 5.1% in June and 4.4% in August 2026.
• The CBA does not rule out that its next decision could be a hike.
• Check the date of the next meeting in the schedule on the CBA website (cba.am).