According to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan's pilot financial accessibility index, significantly more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Uzbekistan are registered in credit bureaus than those who actively use credit products.
Specifically, 68 percent of SMEs are included in credit bureaus, while only about 24 percent maintain an active credit account with a bank or microfinance organization.
When assessing the financial accessibility of SMEs, lending was the most accessible category, receiving 50 out of 100 points. The regulator noted that the high level of registration in credit bureaus compared to holding basic bank accounts indicates deep integration of companies into the formal banking system and the presence of a developed credit base, but this has not led to a comparable level of active borrowing.
The index of credit usage for SMEs was higher—64 out of 100 points. This is due to the fact that SMEs account for 34 percent of newly issued bank loans and 36 percent of the total portfolio of the banking sector's loans.
Since active credit accounts are concentrated among approximately a quarter of all SMEs, credit financing remains concentrated within a relatively narrow circle of established corporate borrowers. Furthermore, the digitalization of business lending is limited: only about 5 percent of microloans for small and medium-sized enterprises are processed entirely through online channels.
The Central Bank determined that to expand business lending, a mechanism is needed to combine credit history data with verified information about the enterprise's turnover, especially for companies facing collateral restrictions or lacking an established credit history.