Uzbekistan microfinance market grows 17% in Q1 2026

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan's credit institutions extended 35.8 trillion soums in microfinance services in the first quarter of 2026, surpassing the year-earlier figure by 5.2 trillion soums, or 17 percent, according to the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan's quarterly microfinance market review. The share of microfinance in total lending reached 35.1 percent, up 0.6 percentage points from the first quarter of 2025.

Market structure: banks expand volume, MFOs gain ground

Commercial banks remained the dominant providers but saw their share of total microfinance volume fall from 79.7 to 66 percent. Microfinance organizations significantly expanded their presence, with their share rising from 18.3 to 31.2 percent. Pawnshops posted a modest increase, from 2 to 2.8 percent.

Within the banking segment, state-owned banks provided 9.8 trillion soums, representing 42 percent of total bank microfinance, while private banks accounted for 13.8 trillion soums, or 58 percent. The two groups diverged sharply: state banks expanded their volume by 3 trillion soums, or 44 percent, while private banks recorded a contraction of 3.8 trillion soums, or 21 percent.

Banking segment leaders: Agrobank doubles volume

Among state banks, Agrobank posted the strongest performance, doubling its microfinance volume to 3.7 trillion soums. Narodny Bank grew its figure by 47 percent to 1.2 trillion soums, and Uzmilliybank by 31 percent to 1.4 trillion soums.

In the private segment, Hamkorbank expanded its microfinance volume 2.6-fold to 1.9 trillion soums, while Ipoteka-Bank increased its figure by 80 percent to 2.1 trillion soums. Anorbank contracted by 12 percent to 1.7 trillion soums, while retaining its position among the three largest private-sector players.

MFOs: TezCoin controls more than half the market

The MFO sector is highly concentrated. The segment's aggregate volume totaled 11.2 trillion soums, with three organizations accounting for 71 percent of that figure, or 7.9 trillion soums. TezCoin leads by a wide margin with 6.4 trillion soums, equivalent to 57 percent of the entire MFO market. Shaffof-Moliya ranked second with 1.1 trillion soums, or 10 percent, followed by Fortuna Business with 0.4 trillion soums, or 3 percent. The remaining 130 organizations collectively provided 30 percent of the market, or 3.3 trillion soums.

Pawnshops: market leader expands volume by 166 percent

Pawnshops extended a combined 1 trillion soums in microloans. Oltin pawnshop recorded the steepest growth, expanding its volume 2.66-fold to 140 billion soums and capturing 14 percent of the pawnshop segment. Hashamatli Chinor grew by 110 percent to 55 billion soums, and Maximum by 65 percent to 30 billion soums. The remaining 87 pawnshops collectively accounted for 78 percent of the segment, or 786 billion soums.

Product structure: microloans dominate, microcredits surge

Microloans constituted 26.6 trillion soums, or 74 percent of total microfinance volume, with microcredits accounting for 9.2 trillion soums, or 26 percent. The two categories moved in opposite directions: microloan volume declined by 0.7 trillion soums, or 3 percent, while microcredits surged 2.8-fold, adding 5.9 trillion soums year-on-year.

Within the banking segment, the share of microcredits rose from 12 to 37 percent, while the MFO product mix remained largely unchanged, with microloans at 96 percent versus 95 percent in 2025. Bank lending retained its predominantly long-term profile, with 91 percent of bank microfinance services issued for terms exceeding one year. MFOs showed a more balanced maturity structure: 66 percent short-term loans of up to one year, and 34 percent long-term.

Regional breakdown: Tashkent concentrates 58 percent of the market

Tashkent continued to dominate the geographic distribution of microfinance, accounting for 20.6 trillion soums, or 58 percent of the national total. Fergana region ranked second with 2.4 trillion soums, Tashkent region third with 1.5 trillion soums, and Samarkand region fourth with 1.4 trillion soums.

The fastest regional growth was recorded in Andijan region, up 631 billion soums, or 90 percent; Samarkand region, up 541 billion soums, or 66 percent; and Tashkent region, up 463 billion soums, or 46 percent. In the microcredit segment, the capital city concentrated 2.8 trillion soums, while regional microcredit volumes grew at rates ranging from 109 to 260 percent compared with the first quarter of 2025.