Today the Senate passed a bill that expands the Central Bank's autonomy in adopting regulations and clarifies how the regulator is audited.
Erkin Gadoev, chairman of the Senate Committee on Budget and Economic Issues, presented the document. He said the changes are meant to make monetary policy, banking supervision and payment system regulation more effective, and to allow faster responses to emergencies in the financial market.
The amendments affect the Central Bank Law, the Guarantees of Freedom of Entrepreneurial Activity Law, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Law and the Regulatory Legal Acts Law.
The amended Central Bank Law states that the regulator makes decisions within its powers independently of other government bodies and is accountable to the Senate.
Under the law, audits of the Central Bank itself, its territorial main departments and its subordinate organizations will be conducted only on a Senate decision or in cases expressly provided for by legislation.
The procedure for registering Central Bank regulations with the Ministry of Justice also changes. Registration will check compliance only with the Constitution and laws of Uzbekistan.
The law implements a simplified registration procedure for certain regulations, to be completed within 10 working days if the Central Bank's legal service gives a positive opinion. These include documents setting prudential standards for credit institutions, requirements for corporate governance and internal audit at banks, risk management at banks and banking groups, and rules on household debt burdens.
The simplified procedure will also apply to documents on monetary policy, the prevention and mitigation of systemic financial crises, and the regulation of payments and payment systems.
The law also abolishes the requirement to coordinate draft Central Bank regulations with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
During the Senate discussion, it was noted that the mandatory coordination of such drafts with the Business Ombudsman is also to be dropped. One senator asked a Central Bank representative whether this would weaken protection of entrepreneurs' interests.
Sanjar Nosirov, a deputy chairman of the Central Bank, said banks and financial institutions are themselves business entities but play a special role in redistributing financial resources among the state, households and businesses, so their regulation requires a distinct approach.
"Scrapping this coordination will not lead to interference in business activity or harm the protection of entrepreneurs' interests," he said.
Nosirov said the Central Bank's autonomy in such decisions is already provided for in legislation, and the new provisions are meant to reinforce the principle and remove legal uncertainty.
The law also exempts some Central Bank regulations from the general rule requiring a three-month delay before taking effect.
Under current rules, legislation that complicates doing business or imposes new obligations or penalties on entrepreneurs must take effect no earlier than three months after official publication. This requirement will not apply to Central Bank regulations registered under the simplified procedure.
As a result, certain regulator decisions on banking supervision, financial stability, household debt burdens and payment systems can be implemented without the mandatory three-month wait.
Changes based on IMF and World Bank recommendations
The law was drafted in line with recommendations from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank following the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), which Gazeta has covered in detail.
Responding to a senator's question about the significance of the recommendations, Nosirov said the assessment was carried out from late 2024 through 2025 and was the first comprehensive review of its kind in Uzbekistan's history.
He said the international organizations analyzed the effectiveness of the reforms and their compliance with international norms and recommendations. Uzbekistan received a report and recommendations as a result.
Nosirov also tied implementation of the recommendations to the banking sector's appeal to investors, saying foreign investors weigh FSAP results and the financial system's alignment with international standards when assessing a market.
"For such investors, who operate internationally, the FSAP results and how well our system meets international norms are very important," he said.
The deputy chairman said the rules on auditing the Central Bank and the simplified procedure for adopting its regulations stem directly from the FSAP recommendations and should improve the effectiveness of banking supervision.
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