The Central Bank of Uzbekistan said it has strengthened oversight of compliance with consumer rights in the financial services sector. Following inspections conducted in the first quarter of 2026, the regulator identified violations at the microfinance organizations Shaffof-moliya and Tezcoin, as well as at Uzum Bank and Ipoteka-bank.
“The Central Bank is carrying out systematic work to ensure the rights and legitimate interests of consumers of financial services,” the regulator said.
Inspections of Shaffof-moliya and Tezcoin found failures to comply with borrower debt-burden requirements, violations in the handling of customer complaints, incomplete disclosure of mandatory information in microloan agreements, and delays in submitting customers’ credit history data to credit bureaus.
At Uzum Bank, the regulator recorded violations related to customer information requirements on the bank’s official website, non-compliance with legislation governing customer complaints, delays in submitting credit history information, and the absence of certain mandatory provisions in consumer contracts.
Following the inspections, the Central Bank imposed fines of 201 million soums on Shaffof-moliya, 156 million soums on Tezcoin, and 215.5 million soums on Uzum Bank.
The regulator also separately reviewed complaints from Ipoteka-bank customers related to lending practices. According to the Central Bank, the bank withdrew funds from borrowers’ bank cards before the scheduled repayment date and debited funds without customer consent in cases where such action was not provided for by the loan agreement. Violations related to collateral registry procedures and deficiencies in contract documentation were also identified.
For these violations, Ipoteka-bank was fined 105 million soums.
The Central Bank also conducted “mystery shopper” inspections at branches and units of commercial banks. These inspections revealed violations of requirements concerning the transparency, completeness and accuracy of information provided to consumers of financial services.
As a result, fines totaling 681.5 million soums were imposed on 14 banks. The Central Bank specifically mentioned sanctions against Agrobank amounting to 255 million soums and O‘zsanoatqurilishbank amounting to 119.5 million soums. The regulator did not disclose the names of the remaining banks.
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