Total outstanding bank loans issued to Uzbek households and businesses reached 629 trillion soums as of May 1, 2026, marking an 11.2% year-on-year increase, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.
The figures show an expansion of 63.5 trillion soums in the country's credit portfolio compared to May 2025, driven heavily by an unprecedented surge in retail borrowing.
Retail Debt Surges Fivefold in Six Years
While corporate credit remains the largest segment of the market, household debt is growing at a significantly faster pace. Loans owed by businesses reached 398.2 trillion soums—a 12% increase over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, household debt jumped 21.2% year-on-year, climbing to 230.8 trillion soums from 190.4 trillion soums a year earlier.
This rapid accumulation of retail credit highlights a dramatic multi-year shift in Uzbekistan's banking ecosystem. Historical data tracks a massive escalation in consumer and mortgage borrowing over the last six years:
- 2020: 43.8 trillion soums;
- 2021: 58.7 trillion soums;
- 2022: 75.3 trillion soums;
- 2023: 113.9 trillion soums;
- 2024: 156.1 trillion soums;
- 2026: 230.8 trillion soums.
The total volume of household lending has grown more than fivefold since 2020. State-owned financial institutions continue to dominate the landscape, holding 417.2 trillion soums of total lending, compared to 211.7 trillion soums managed by private commercial banks.
Tashkent Dominates National Credit Landscape
Geographically, credit distribution remains highly centralized in the capital city. Tashkent accounts for more than 290 trillion soums in outstanding loans—representing nearly half (46.1%) of all banking credit nationwide. Within the capital, businesses owe 221.2 trillion soums, while individual residents carry 68.7 trillion soums in debt.
The concentration of leverage is so pronounced that residents of Tashkent city alone carry more than double the debt of any single province outside the capital.
The provincial breakdown of outstanding credit shows a steep drop-off outside the capital zone:
- Fergana province: 36.4 trillion soums;
- Samarkand province: 32.3 trillion soums;
- Tashkent province: 29.7 trillion soums;
- Kashkadarya province: 29.4 trillion soums;
- Andijan province: 28.2 trillion soums;
- Bukhara province: 27.1 trillion soums;
- Khorezm province: 26.2 trillion soums;
- Surkhandarya province: 24.0 trillion soums;
- Namangan province: 22.7 trillion soums;
- Republic of Karakalpakstan: 21.2 trillion soums;
- Jizzakh province: 20.5 trillion soums;
- Sirdarya province: 20.4 trillion soums;
- Navoi province: 20.1 trillion soums.
Top Lenders and Loan Breakdowns
State-controlled banking giants remain the anchor of the credit market. Uzmilliybank leads the nation with 107.4 trillion soums in outstanding loans, followed closely by Agrobank at 89 trillion soums. Other primary lenders include Uzsanoatkurilishbank (61.7 trillion soums), Asaka Bank (40.2 trillion soums), Xalq Bank (36.7 trillion soums), and the recently privatized Ipotekabank (35.6 trillion soums).
An analysis of what everyday citizens are borrowing for reveals that real estate continues to be the primary driver of retail debt. Mortgages comprise the largest share of household loans at 83.9 trillion soums, up 4.5 trillion soums from last year.
Short-term liquidity and consumer assets round out the remainder of retail borrowing:
- Micro-loans: 50.1 trillion soums;
- Microcredits: 44.3 trillion soums;
- Auto loans: 39.6 trillion soums;
- Education loans: 6.9 trillion soums (largely unchanged year-on-year);
- Consumer loans: 515 billion soums.
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