According to Forbes Russia, the influx of foreign funds did not lead to a boom in lending to the population and businesses in Uzbekistan, Spot.uz has reported with references to Forbes Russia.
The magazine analyzed the main directions of Russian capital outflow, particularly towards the countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia. None of these countries experienced a surge in lending to individuals and businesses. For instance, in 2022, the credit portfolio in Uzbekistan grew by 19.5%, only slightly higher than the 2021 figure of 17.8%.
Instead of converting the received funds into loans, banks chose to increase their highly liquid assets, primarily in correspondent accounts and securities. According to the Central Bank, the commercial banks' highly liquid assets in Uzbekistan grew by 37% over the year and the liquidity coverage ratio rose to a record 211.6%.
"Banks prefer to maintain a high level of liquid assets, such as investing in securities and holding funds in correspondent accounts, thereby reducing their risks in case of potential outflows," said Sergey Voronenko, Director of the Financial Institutions Ratings Group at S&P.
Local credit organizations recognize the short-term nature of the inflow of Russian funds and, therefore, refrain from using them for long-term lending, according to Anton Tabakh, Chief Economist at Expert RA.
Tabakh noted that the outflow of Russian funds will not happen abruptly but will occur gradually over time.
In early June, during a speech at the Senate, the Chairman of the Central Bank, Mamarizo Nurmuratov, stated that the number of non-resident accounts in banks exceeded 60,000 in 2022.
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