_BIOGRAPHY He was appointed to his current position in 2021. He also worked as Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan and CEO of Ipotekabank of Uzbekistan. He graduated as a Bachelor in Finance and Lending at the Tashkent Financial Institute and has a Master's in Public Policy–Macroeconomics at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Japan.

“UZBEKISTAN'S REFORM DIRECTION AND XALQ BANK'S TRANSFORMATION ARE MOVING IN THE SAME RHYTHM. FOR INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS, THAT ALIGNMENT IS THE OPPORTUNITY.”

S&P UPGRADED XALQ BANK IN 2024. WHAT DOES THAT SIGNAL TO INVESTORS?

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The upgrade reflects three years of disciplined work. We shifted the lending mix from a portfolio dominated by state programmes toward a commercially weighted balance sheet. Commercial lending rose from 52 percent of the loan book in 2023 to 66 percent in 2025. The Supervisory Board now operates with an independent majority. Credit processes were rebuilt with technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank across three successive engagements. The bank's mobile platform, Xazna, now anchors a digital-first operating model.

These changes show up in the numbers. Non-performing loans closed 2025 at 3.4 percent, down from 4.2 percent the year before. The 2026 target sits at 3.2 percent. The capital adequacy ratio holds at 22.2 percent, well above the 13 percent regulatory floor, and the liquidity coverage ratio at 195.5 percent. Fitch raised the bank from BB-/Stable to BB/Stable in 2025, matching Uzbekistan's sovereign trajectory.

For international counterparties, this matters in practical terms. Lower sovereign-support uncertainty translates into cleaner pricing on trade finance lines, easier access to long-tenor funding from European DFIs, and viable terms on syndicated facilities. The Eurobond purchase of 70.5 million dollars through our Raiffeisen Bank International custodian account in 2025 was the first concrete test of that thesis.

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HOW IS THE BANK'S SOCIAL MISSION BECOMING AN ENGINE OF INCLUSION?

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Xalq Bank pays the pensions of 4 million Uzbek citizens every month and handles social transfers for over 2 million more. That is the starting point. The shift now under way converts those monthly touchpoints into financial relationships that build wealth, not simply administer cash flow.

The instrument is Xazna. In the first ten months of 2025, active users rose 1.8 times to 5.5 million. The application processed more than 180 million transactions over the same period. Some 39,000 deposits were opened online. A pensioner in Karakalpakstan who once queued at a branch in Nukus to collect a payment now receives it directly, places part into a deposit, and settles utilities from the same screen. That is financial inclusion measured in minutes saved and balances accumulated.

Several lines extend the model. The Xazna SuperApp programme is layering mini-applications across utilities, education, healthcare and tourism. Women's banking products and micro-SME lending convert social recipients into proprietors. Pre-scoring and CVM systems, introduced in 2025, expand access to small loans for clients with thin credit files. A buy-now-pay-later facility is rolling out across POS terminals and online merchants in 2026, alongside the bank's first proprietary credit card. Half a million issuances are planned. The social mission has become the distribution channel for everything else the bank does.

WHAT IS XALQ BANK'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE UZBEKISTAN-2030 FINANCIAL TARGETS?

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Uzbekistan's banking system needs to lift annual lending to 720 trillion soums and deposits to 560 trillion soums by 2030. Xalq Bank's share is structural. The 2026 budget makes that visible: total assets of 62,746 billion soums, a loan book of 40,277 billion soums, a deposit and card base of 23,116 billion soums, and a pension fund position of 9,987 billion.

Four channels carry most of the weight. Mass-market mortgages, where the bank is one of the system's two leading providers. Digital SME working capital and project finance through Xazna Business, now being rebuilt for real-time international payment monitoring, AI-assisted financial analysis, remote account opening in minutes, and an integrated deposit builder. State-supported trade and project lending, anchored by the bank's role in industrial and infrastructure financing. And pension and payroll-linked deposit mobilisation, where the pension fund balance remains a structural funding source no private competitor can replicate.

Macroeconomic conditions support the plan. The Central Bank forecasts GDP growth of 6.1 percent in 2026 and inflation easing to 6–7 percent, with the key rate currently at 14 percent on a downward path. Remittance flows are expected to grow 17–18 percent, strengthening household liquidity. Against this backdrop, the bank's 21 percent lending expansion target for 2026 is sized to absorb demand without compressing the NPL ratio. The numbers align with the national strategy by design.

HOW WILL DIGITAL TOOLS AND ISLAMIC BANKING SUSTAIN THE BANK'S GROWTH?

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The playbook for 2026 has three components: digital origination, AI-driven credit infrastructure, and product diversification through Islamic finance. On the digital side, the Mastercard memorandum signed in 2025 cleared the path for full e-commerce certification and multi-currency card issuance, which extends the bank's competitive position beyond domestic borders. ATM migration to the HUMO and UZCARD networks completes in 2026. Direct H2H integration follows. Cashless utility payments will be available at every ATM in the network. VISA Platinum cards launch alongside premium and business variants. A UZCARD youth card follows for the under-25 segment.

Artificial intelligence is moving from pilot to production. The Contact Center will respond to client requests through an AI layer first, with sales functionality following. A next-generation scoring model for SMEs is in deployment, which allows loans, leasing, factoring, and guarantees to be approved online without a branch visit. Pre-scoring extends to retail microloans.

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Islamic finance is the most consequential product line opening in 2026. The legislation passed on 27 March 2026 and takes effect in June. Xalq Bank will be among the first systemic banks to offer murabaha, mudaraba, and ijara products. The Gold Deposit, an investment product indexed to the gold price, complements this. For an economy where significant household wealth remains outside the formal banking system, Islamic products and gold-linked deposits address demand the conventional product set has never reached.

YOUR MESSAGE TO INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS WEIGHING UZBEKISTAN AS THEIR NEXT MARKET?

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Uzbekistan is one of the few emerging markets where the reform direction, the demographic curve, the institutional capacity, and the macroeconomic anchors are all moving the same way at the same time. GDP is forecast at 145 billion dollars for 2025 and 167 billion for 2026, with sustained growth above 6 percent through 2028. Foreign direct investment reached 43.1 billion dollars in 2025. The sovereign rating sits at BB, with Moody's on positive outlook.

Xalq Bank offers a specific way to access that trajectory. Sovereign anchoring, a 150-year operating history, and a transformation programme validated by the ADB through three successive technical assistance engagements. The bank's equity base is projected by the ADB to reach 641.9 million dollars by 2029, expanding at close to 24 percent annually. Few banks in Central Asia match that capital growth profile.

For investors and institutions considering entry, the practical routes are well-defined. Correspondent banking and trade finance lines come first, opening the relationship. Syndicated lending follows, with the bank's improved credit metrics now competitive on tenor and pricing. Selective equity participation and strategic partnerships sit further along, supported by the IPO-readiness work continuing under ADB guidance. Trade finance, retail expansion, and SME platform partnerships offer specific entry points. Read the rating reports. Look at the numbers. The story holds.