By the end of 2024, the net profit of microfinance organizations and pawnshops in Uzbekistan exceeded 1 trillion sums for the first time. This is stated in the report of the Central Bank, which focuses on the financial condition of MFIs and pawnshops.

From January to December, the total income of MFIs and pawnshops amounted to 3.4 trillion sums, with expenses reaching 1.5 trillion sums, resulting in a net profit of 1 trillion sums. Microfinance organizations generated 3 trillion sums, with just under half allocated to expenses. Thus, the net profit of MFIs amounted to 833 billion sums.

In turn, the income of pawnshops exceeded 354 billion sums, while their expenses were 138 billion sums. Consequently, their net profit was around 170 billion sums.

The Central Bank noted that interest income from MFIs accounts for 70% of the total revenue, of which 99.3% is generated from loans issued. In the cost structure, non-interest expenses for MFIs constituted 10% (11% for pawnshops), operational expenses were 44% (81%), and interest expenses were 46% (8%).

The share of microloans in the segmentation of services provided in interest income received by microfinance organizations from microfinance services was around 97−99%.

By the end of 2024, the volume of microloans issued (45.83 trillion sums) and microcredits (17.4 trillion sums) increased by more than half. In the second half of the year, the growth rates of microloans accelerated, and in December, they set an absolute record of 5.1 trillion sums.

Microfinancing

In January 2024, the then-head of the Central Bank, Mamaryzo Nurmuratov, stated that there were no prerequisites for the formation of a bubble in the microfinance market. In 2023, the share of retail loans in the overall portfolio increased from 26% to 33%, with overheating observed in certain segments of retail lending.

At the end of February of the same year, Shavkat Mirziyoyev approved the doubling of the maximum microloan amount from 50 to 100 million sums.

By the end of last year, the president instructed the creation of 50 microfinance organizations and allocated financial resources amounting to 1 trillion sums for them.

In July, the Central Bank approved regulations for the operation of microfinance organizations in the field of Islamic finance. Microfinance organizations will be able to engage in Islamic finance, but they will need to establish a special board and maintain separate accounting.

Additionally, starting from November 1, a "cooling-off period" was implemented for online loan issuance. When applying through the app, biometric identification must be completed. This allows for determining whether the application was submitted by the applicant personally. If a borrower has many debts or overdue payments, the bank may refuse the loan or reduce its amount.

Previously, Spot reported that the law on self-restriction for loan applications received approval from the Senate.