Uzbekistan Microfinance Sector Doubles Lending to 12.2 Trillion Soumss in Q1 2026, Assets Hit 14.4 Trillion

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan's microfinance institutions and pawnshops doubled their lending volumes in the first quarter of 2026, disbursing a combined 12.2 trillion soumss in loans as the sector's total assets climbed 50 percent to 14.4 trillion soumss, according to the regulator's quarterly financial condition review.

Sector Infrastructure

The microfinance market comprised 223 entities as of the end of Q1 2026, including 133 microfinance institutions with 417 branches and 90 pawnshops with 171 branches. One new microfinance institution entered the market during the quarter, accompanied by the establishment of 47 new branches — 24 belonging to microfinance institutions and 23 to pawnshops.

The number of entities with foreign capital participation rose by four year-on-year to 24, comprising 16 microfinance institutions and 8 pawnshops. Tashkent city remains the most densely served market, hosting 77 microfinance institutions and 45 pawnshops, followed by Fergana region with 20 microfinance institutions and 5 pawnshops. The Karakalpakstan Republic and Kashkadarya region each had only one head office, reflecting the uneven geographic distribution of services across the country.

Lending Activity and Segmentation

Total disbursements reached 12.2 trillion soumss in January through March 2026, doubling the year-earlier figure. Microfinance institutions accounted for 92 percent of disbursements at 11.2 trillion soumss, with pawnshops contributing the remaining 8 percent at 1 trillion soumss. Lending to individuals represented 98 percent of total services at 11.9 trillion soumss, with legal entities accounting for 2 percent at 244 billion soumss.

Online lending was the primary growth driver, with microfinance institutions disbursing 8 trillion soumss through digital channels in Q1 2026 — a 2.2-fold increase year-on-year — representing 72 percent of all microfinance institution disbursements. Tezkoyn led the online segment with 6.4 trillion soumss disbursed, followed by Shaffof-Moliya at 1.1 trillion soumss, TBC Credit at 203 billion soumss, Korona at 174 billion soums, Paylayter at 54 billion soumss, and Uno Moliya at 37 billion soumss. Korona, TBS Credit, and Uno Moliya had no online lending activity in Q1 2025, making their emergence a notable development in the quarter.

By loan size for individuals, credits of up to 10 million soumss dominated at 64 percent of disbursements, followed by 10–20 million soumss at 16 percent, 20–50 million soumss at 13 percent, and 50–100 million soumss at 7 percent. The share of loans up to 10 million soumss increased by 6 percentage points year-on-year, while the 50–100 million soumss bracket contracted by 4 percentage points, suggesting a broadening of small-ticket consumer credit. For legal entities, loans exceeding 300 million soumss dominated at 53 percent of disbursements, up 45 percentage points year-on-year, reflecting a sharp shift toward larger corporate exposures.

Interest Rates

Annual interest rates on microloans to individuals from microfinance institutions ranged from 30 to 109.5 percent in March 2026, with a weighted average annual rate of 57.9 percent. Rates on loans to sole proprietors and legal entities ranged from 30 to 64 percent, with a weighted average of 52.4 percent annually.

Pawnshop rates on loans to individuals ranged from 60 to 109.5 percent annually, with a weighted average of 95.7 percent — substantially above the microfinance institution average. Of pawnshop disbursements in March 2026, 1.2 percent, equivalent to 4.2 billion soumss, fell in the lowest rate band of 60–70 percent annually, while 44.8 percent, or 156.9 billion soumss, fell in the highest band of 100–109.5 percent annually.

Assets

Total sector assets grew 1.5-fold year-on-year to 14.4 trillion soumss as of April 1, 2026. Microfinance institution assets rose 50 percent by 4.5 trillion soumss to 13.6 trillion soumss, while pawnshop assets increased 51 percent by 282 billion soumss to 833 billion soumss. Credit investments accounted for 92 percent of combined assets at 13.2 trillion soumss, itself up 1.5-fold year-on-year.

The sector's share of total outstanding credit across all credit organizations reached 2.1 percent at end-Q1 2026. Outstanding loans to individuals grew 1.4-fold over the year to 12.1 trillion soumss, while outstanding loans to business entities more than doubled to 1.1 trillion soumss. Within business lending, microcredit balances rose 1.9-fold to 759 billion soumss, factoring volumes grew 2.6-fold to 228 billion soumss, and loans exceeding 300 million soumss surged 6.7-fold to 94 billion soumss.

Non-performing loans at microfinance institutions stood at 284 billion soumss, or 2.3 percent of the portfolio, as of April 1, 2026 — down 0.1 percentage points year-on-year. Of total NPLs, 87 percent, or 248 billion soumss, were classified as doubtful, with the remaining 13 percent, or 36 billion soumss, classified as loss loans. Tezkoyn and Shaffof-Moliya together accounted for 45 percent of total NPLs at 77 billion soums and 51 billion soums respectively. The NPL coverage ratio declined by 10 percentage points from the start of 2026 to 55 percent as of April 1.

Liabilities

Total sector liabilities rose 1.5-fold year-on-year by 3.5 trillion soums to 10.1 trillion soums at end-Q1 2026. Microfinance institution liabilities grew 1.5-fold to 9.9 trillion soums, while pawnshop liabilities nearly doubled to 170 billion soums.

Within microfinance institution liabilities, domestic companies were the largest funding source at 32 percent, or 3.2 trillion soums, followed by commercial banks at 24 percent, or 2.4 trillion soums, founders at 16 percent, or 1.6 trillion soums, international financial institutions at 5 percent, or 465 billion soums, and bond placements at 4 percent, or 435 billion soums, with other liabilities comprising the remaining 19 percent. Bond placement proceeds grew 3.5-fold, funding from domestic companies rose 2.4-fold, and founder capital increased 1.5-fold, while borrowings from commercial banks contracted by 10 percent.

Pawnshop liabilities of 170 billion soums were funded primarily by founders at 62 percent, or 106 billion soums, commercial banks at 14 percent, or 24 billion soums, and other liabilities at 24 percent, or 40 billion soums.

Capital and Profitability

Combined sector capital grew 1.4-fold by 1.2 trillion soums to 4.3 trillion soums as of April 1, 2026. Microfinance institution capital rose 1.4-fold to 3.6 trillion soums and pawnshop capital grew 1.4-fold to 663 billion soums. In microfinance institutions, the capital increase was driven by a 531 billion soums rise in charter capital, 436 billion soums in retained earnings growth, 48 billion soums from current-year profit, and 20 billion soums from reserve capital. Charter capital of microfinance institutions with foreign participation grew 1.5-fold by 105 billion soums, while the equivalent figure for foreign-participation pawnshops surged 5.4-fold by 79 billion soums.

The sector recorded combined net profit of 385.3 billion soums in Q1 2026, on total revenues of 1.6 trillion soums and total expenses of 1.2 trillion soums. Microfinance institutions contributed 300.4 billion soums in net profit from revenues of 1.4 trillion soums and expenses of 1.1 trillion soums. Pawnshops earned 84.9 billion soums in net profit on revenues of 157 billion soums and expenses of 72.1 billion soums.

Return on assets at microfinance institutions stood at 17.3 percent, down 2 percentage points year-on-year, while return on equity was 37.2 percent, down 2.3 percentage points. Pawnshops delivered stronger profitability metrics: return on assets reached 56.7 percent, up 1.5 percentage points year-on-year, and return on equity rose 2.5 percentage points to 53.9 percent.