Central Bank of Uzbekistan Records First Increase in Som-Denominated Deposit Rates Since August

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — In January, the average nominal interest rate on bank deposits in the national currency reached 18.9%, according to a report from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.

Compared to December 2025, the rate rose by 0.5 percentage points, marking the first monthly increase since August of the previous year. In annual terms, however, deposit yields declined by 0.6 points.

For deposits with terms of up to one year, the average rate reached 17.5%, up 0.2 points over the month. Long-term deposits offered an average of 19.2%, 0.5 points higher than in December, although yields in this segment fell by about 1 point over the past 12 months.

Deposit rates for individuals in January remained largely unchanged at 20.6%, though this represents a decline of 1.6 points compared to the same period last year, when the average rate exceeded 22%.

For corporate deposits, the average rate stood at 16.3%, down 0.1 points from the previous month and 0.4 points year-on-year. Short-term deposits for businesses fell to 15.3% (-0.3 points), while long-term deposits saw a slight increase to 16.8% (+0.2 points).

In real terms, the interest rate on household deposits reached 8.4%, and corporate deposits 5%, both up 0.2 points from the previous month amid declining inflation expectations.

Yields on foreign currency deposits remained steady at an average of 4.7%, though they fell 0.3 points year-on-year. Short-term FX deposits increased for the first time since June, rising to 3% (+0.9 points), while long-term FX deposits remained unchanged at 5.2%.

For individuals, the average yield on foreign currency deposits was 5.1%, matching the level from a year ago and 0.5 points higher than in December, driven by higher rates on long-term deposits, which rose to 5.3%.

In the corporate segment, yields on FX deposits fell to a low not seen since March of last year, reaching 4.1% (-0.8 points month-on-month). While in December long-term business deposit rates approached 7%, in January they fell back to around 5% per annum.