Uzbekistan, Tashkent, July 5 / Trend D. Azizov /
The Uzbek commercial banks increased their lending to small business and entrepreneurship by 1.4 times up to 1.468 trillion soums in January - May 2011, compared to the same period of last year, the Central Bank of the Republic said. In particular, about 2.95.2 billion soums falls to the share of micro-credit.
In particular, about 294 billion soums of credit (up to 40 percent) was allocated to the companies producing food consumer goods, 1.42.4 billion soums (up 14 percent) in the sphere of services.
The Uzbek banks plan to allocate over 3.5 trillion soums of credit to small business and entrepreneurship by late 2011 or 1.3 times more than in 2010.
According to the Central Bank, it is planned to allocate loans to the amount of 4.377 trillion soums in 2012. About 760 billion soums will fall to micro-credit, 5.077 trillion soums, including 900 billion soums of microcredit in 2013.
According to the Uzbek law, a microcredit is a loan given to the borrower for a specific purpose (to start and to expand business activity in the micro-leasing sphere). The amount does not exceed the minimum wage - 49,735 soums per month at present.
Micro-crediting of small private business is implemented by the banks from the special funds of concessional lending.
The Uzbek banking system is currently represented by 31 banks, including three state, five - with the participation of foreign capital, 12 joint-stock and 11 private.
In 2010, total assets of Uzbek banks increased by 32.1 percent, compared to the totals of 2009 and amounted to 20.739 trillion soums, the total loan portfolio - 35 percent up to 11.539 trillion soums, aggregate bank capital - 36.2 percent - up to 4.1 trillion soums.