Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- At a meeting of the Senate Committee on Budget and Economic Reforms, a preliminary report on the activities of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2021 was considered.

As noted in the report, in 2021 the Central Bank focused on ensuring macroeconomic and financial stability in the country by directing monetary policy instruments to achieve intermediate inflation forecasts and taking measures to prevent and mitigate risks in the banking system.

In particular, in order to achieve the forecast inflation rate of 10% by the end of the year, the key rate of the Central Bank during the reporting year was kept unchanged at the level of 14% per annum.

Monetary measures led to a decrease in the inflation rate from 11.1% in 2020 to 10% in 2021.

As noted, in order to financially support the population and business entities, loans were provided in the amount of 166.7 trillion soums, which is 1.3 times more than in 2020.

Within the framework of programs for the development of family entrepreneurship, over the past 4 years, soft loans in the amount of more than 24.3 trillion soums have been allocated, thanks to which more than 983,000 families have taken up entrepreneurship. On average in the republic, 110 out of every thousand households have started their entrepreneurial activities within the framework of these programs.

At the same time, the senators pointed to the presence of some shortcomings in the active use and improvement of monetary policy instruments in ensuring price stability, as well as ensuring the stability of the banking system and the smooth payment of fees.

Banks and the Government have taken measures to prevent the negative impact of problem loans on the financial stability of banks in the structure of the loan portfolio. However, the share of problem loans increased to 5.2% by the end of 2021.

The analysis shows that the work of the Central Bank to control and regulate the activities of commercial banks should be strengthened.

Effective measures are not being taken in a timely manner to ensure the openness and transparency of the activities of commercial banks and their territorial structures, and to prevent corruption risks in them.

Members of the Senate noted that the presence of certain manifestations of corruption in the process of issuing loans by banks can lead to a negative impact on economic and social reforms.

There are cases of theft of funds in the banking system, cases of abuse of official powers in the provision of banking services and loans, in particular, cases of misappropriation of budget funds earmarked for various social projects to support the population.

As a result of the discussion, recommendations were made regarding the problems faced by the population and entrepreneurs in obtaining soft loans or allocating loans. This issue was addressed in most appeals of individuals and legal entities in 2021.

An appropriate decision of the Committee was adopted on this issue.