The third quarter of 2025 was marked by significant dynamics and unexpected trends in Uzbekistan's banking sector. Despite an overall increase in financial market activity, some major banks experienced declines, while others recorded record growth.
According to the data, in Q3 2025, the total assets of the country's banks expanded by 12.7%, the loan portfolio grew by 9.2%, and the deposit base increased by 20.3%. One of the most notable indicators was the overall net profit, which grew by nearly 35% over the year. This reflects a noticeable revival in the banking system's profitability and efficiency.
Strengthening of the soum: benefits and risks
During this period, Uzbekistan's national currency, the soum, gained 6.4% in value. However, the positive exchange rate dynamics did not affect all banks in the same way. For instance, the National Bank of Uzbekistan reported a 3% contraction in its loan portfolio. This suggests that the de-dollarization process in the banking system is continuing.
As per the general trend, the share of loans denominated in US dollars decreased from 44% to 39%, while the share of foreign currency deposits dropped from 27% to 23%. Nevertheless, some banks remain heavily reliant on foreign currency. For example, the National Bank's dollar-denominated loans account for over 60% of its total portfolio.
Due to the strengthening of the soum, the equivalent value of the bank's dollar-denominated loan portfolio in soums fell from 69.3 trillion soums to 64.9 trillion soums. Meanwhile, loans in the national currency increased from 38.7 trillion soums to 40 trillion soums. However, the overall loan portfolio still showed a decline.
Declines and growth: banks displayed sharp contrasts
The situation varied significantly among individual banks. Tenge Bank's loan portfolio shrank by 10.2%, while Asia Alliance Bank recorded a 3.1% decline.
Uzum Bank experienced a relatively larger contraction of 48.7%, although in monetary terms, this amounted to only 64 billion soums, a relatively small figure.
On the other hand, Agrobank achieved the most significant growth. Its loan portfolio increased by 17.6 trillion soums since the beginning of the year, rising to second place nationwide. By October 1, its portfolio reached 77 trillion soums, exceeding its annual target of 65 trillion soums.
Positive changes were also seen in terms of non-performing loans:
• Agrobank — 4% → 3.7%
• Ipoteka Bank — decreased by 1.4 trillion soums
• Bank for Business Development — dropped to 5.9%
This indicates improved overall financial stability.
Deposit market: leaders and new trends
The largest growth in deposits was again recorded by the National Bank of Uzbekistan, with a rise of 12.4 trillion soums. Agrobank followed with 9.4 trillion soums, while SQB saw an increase of 6.1 trillion soums.
Agrobank significantly benefited from individual deposits, as demand for housing and savings products continued to grow.
Profit leaders and loss-makers
By the end of the first nine months of 2025, the banking sector achieved a total net profit of 10.9 trillion soums, which is 34.7% higher than the previous year.
Top profit-generating banks included:
• National Bank of Uzbekistan — 1.45 trillion soums
• SQB — +584.3 billion soums
• Hamkorbank — +226.7 billion soums
However, some newly entered banks in the market are still operating at a loss. The largest negative figure was reported by New Bank, with a loss of 95.4 billion soums.
At the same time, one of the new entrants, AVO Bank, achieved a positive outcome with a net profit of 0.4 billion soums in 2025.
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