Only One in Four Uzbek Small Businesses Holds an Active Bank Loan

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Credit bureau records cover significantly more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Uzbekistan than actively hold credit products, with 68 percent of SMEs registered with credit bureaus while only approximately 24 percent maintain an active credit account at a bank or microfinance organization, according to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan's pilot financial inclusion index.

Lending remains the most accessible category within the SME financial inclusion evaluation, with the credit availability index scoring 50 points out of 100.

The regulator noted that the high rate of credit bureau registration relative to basic bank account ownership indicates strong integration of businesses into the formal banking system and a developed credit database. However, this coverage has not translated into equivalent levels of active borrowing.

The credit usage index for SMEs scored higher at 64 points out of 100, driven by the fact that SMEs account for 34 percent of newly issued bank loans and 36 percent of the banking sector's total loan portfolio.

Because active loan accounts are concentrated among roughly one-quarter of all SMEs, credit funding remains clustered within a relatively narrow circle of established corporate borrowers.

Digitalization of business lending also remains limited, with only about 5 percent of microloans for small and medium-sized enterprises processed entirely through online channels.

The Central Bank identified combining credit history data with verified business turnover information as a essential mechanism to expand business lending, particularly for enterprises facing collateral constraints or lacking established credit histories.