Uzbekistan SME Credit Market Shows Moderate Concentration, Regulator Says

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) credit market in Uzbekistan exhibits moderate concentration, recording a Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) score of approximately 1,931, according to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan's pilot financial inclusion report.

Under the methodology used in the report, HHI scores below 1,500 indicate low market concentration, scores between 1,500 and 2,500 represent moderate concentration, and values exceeding 2,500 signify high concentration.

Calculated using data from the Central Bank's State Credit Information Registry, the score of 1,931 falls within the middle range of moderate concentration. The regulator noted that this metric indicates the presence of several active banking institutions without a single dominant market player.

The Central Bank stated that market structure and product design significantly influence financing options and service terms available to small and medium-sized businesses. Given the prevailing concentration level, monitoring competitive alternatives remains essential, as competitive interest rates alone do not determine the practical value of a financial product for a business.

The market structure findings accompany broader service quality evaluations for SME financial products, which scored 43 points out of 100 overall. Within this category, savings product quality scored 50 points, while credit product quality scored 41 points.

The evaluation of savings products was influenced by average interest rates on new time deposits for businesses, which stood at approximately 17.4 percent overall and 16.6 percent for rural SMEs.