TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, November 24. The average return on deposits in the national currency in Uzbekistan stood at 21.4 percent by the end of October 2023, Trend reports.
As per data by Uzbekistan’s Central Bank, the recorded percentage reflects a rebound from a September decline as well as surpasses figures from 2015 to 2022.
The surge in the indicator was driven by deposits with longer terms; for deposits lasting 6 to 12 months, the yield reached 20.7 percent, marking an increase of 0.1 percent. Deposits for over a year saw a yield of 21.5 percent with a rise of 0.2 percent.
Deposit rates for legal entities increased by over 1 percent, reaching a peak of 17.9 percent for the first time since June 2023. The yield on accounts for 1 to 3 months reached 16.8 percent, adding 5 percent per month. Rates for deposits up to six months remained at the September level (18.4 percent), while accounts for 6 to 12 months fell to 16.5 percent, having decreased by 2 percent.
Foreign currency deposits also saw a notable increase in profitability, with the average corporate deposit rate rising by a third to a record 5.6 percent. After a decrease in the previous month, the yield on accounts for more than a year reached 5.7 percent, reflecting a 1.2 percent increase.
Interest rates on foreign currency deposits for individuals returned to the August level of 5.2 percent, thanks to an increase in interest on long-term deposits. However, rates for terms less than a year experienced a decline once again.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan’s Republican Currency Exchange (UzRVB) has launched a new project aimed at automating the process of forming and transferring financial documents for transactions concluded on the REPO market of government securities (GS).
The innovation is said to facilitate the decision-making process on the part of the bank, increase the speed of transactions, and reduce the risk of errors when transferring money.
The volume of transactions amounted to 44.86 trillion soums ($3.68 billion) as of October 1, 2023, with an increase of 24 times relative to the final indicators of the first quarter of the year.
