According to data from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan's pilot financial accessibility index, about a third of borrowers in Uzbekistan have more than one active bank loan, with the average number of active loans per borrower being 1.7.
The report highlights that access to credit products is well developed: credit bureau records cover 98 percent of the adult population, and 80 percent of new retail loans are processed through automated credit channels.
Overall, 20 percent of adults have an active bank credit account, and another 7 percent use loans from microfinance organizations.
Key findings of the report
The Central Bank noted that 29 percent of individual borrowers currently service several active loans. While this trend indicates an expansion of access to credit, it also points to a gradual increase in debt obligations among clients already participating in the credit system.
The retail credit usage index received a score of 47 out of 100, while the credit availability indicator scored 64 points.
As retail lending continues to grow, the Central Bank emphasized the need to create tools to monitor overall debt burden, ensure timely data exchange between creditors, and enable early detection of repayment difficulties. The regulator also presented plans to transition from loan approval decisions based on stop factors to risk-oriented scoring models that include additional and alternative information.