Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Central Bank of Uzbekistan held a working group meeting to discuss improvements to legislation on loan refinancing, the regulator’s press service reported.

Participants reviewed planned amendments to the Central Bank’s regulatory framework aimed at developing the refinancing market. One key proposal is to exclude payments on refinanced loans from borrowers’ debt burden calculations.

Additionally, encouraging clients to take out new loans to refinance existing debt on better terms will not be classified as an unfair practice. Meanwhile, loans with capitalized interest will not be considered restructured assets if interest accrual occurs within 30 days.

Bank representatives raised concerns about securing refinanced loans and emphasized the need to clearly differentiate between refinancing and modifications to existing loan agreements.

The meeting also addressed proposals to limit refinancing operations for a single loan to one time and to allow new loans exceeding the original debt amount. A potential cap on the share of refinanced loans in banks' portfolios was also discussed.

The Central Bank stressed that its priorities include fostering competition among banks, preventing excessive household debt, and expanding access to financial services.

Special attention was given to introducing online services for loan refinancing. The regulator expressed readiness to consider market participants’ proposals in further discussions.