The Central Bank of Uzbekistan plans to tighten microcredit rules. The regulator proposed introducing a mandatory minimum income threshold for borrowers and scrapping current exemptions for calculating debt burdens.
What happened
According to the industry channel UzbBanking, the CBU submitted an initiative that directly ties microloan access to a client’s financial status.
First, the regulator proposes setting a minimum monthly income to qualify for a microloan. This threshold will be based on officially approved minimum consumer spending.
Second, the Central Bank intends to remove exemptions from the debt burden ratio (DBR) calculation for the microcredit segment. Currently, banks and microfinance organizations can issue small amounts without strictly accounting for all of a client’s existing obligations.
Country and market
Uzbekistan is experiencing a microcredit boom. By early 2026, the volume of microloans issued by commercial banks reached 48.9 trillion soums. This accounts for 8% of the country’s total banking credit portfolio.
The client base is also growing: the number of microloan borrowers approached 2.7 million, adding 16% over the year. Statistics show signs of debt accumulation. The average number of credit contracts per person increased from 1.7 to 1.9.
Why it matters
The CBU’s initiative is a direct response to the risk of consumer over-indebtedness. Scrapping DBR exemptions means banks and BNPL services will have to scrutinize client solvency more closely, even when issuing small amounts for household purchases.
For the market, this signals a shift from aggressive portfolio growth to quality scoring, which will inevitably slow the pace of new loan issuance.
What’s next
The initiative remains at the proposal stage. The next step is publishing an official draft regulation and discussing it with market participants. Banks and fintech companies will have to rebuild their scoring models to automatically reject applications from clients earning below the minimum consumer spending level.