The National Bank of Uzbekistan, the country’s largest commercial bank, is betting that the next phase of the country's economic transformation will be driven not by state-backed megaprojects but by households and small businesses.

After a decade of reforms since Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took over in 2016, Uzbekistan has reached critical mass. Privatisation has started with a flagship IPO of Uzbekistan National Investment Fund (UzNIF) in June. Foreign direct investment has started to arrive. And growth has accelerated from a steady 6% a year to top 7.7% last year. On the back of these changes, the NBU is seeking to evolve from a Soviet-era development lender into a modern universal bank.

Speaking to IntelliNews shortly after the Tashkent International Investment Forum (TIIF), the chairman of the NBU Alisher Mirsoatov said the bank's own transformation has mirrored the country's sweeping economic reforms since President Shavkat Mirziyoyev launched his liberalisation programme in 2017.

"It was another strong edition of the forum, and this year's discussions really underlined how far Uzbekistan's economic transformation has come and how attractive the country has become as an investment destination," Mirsoatov said. "President Mirziyoyev's priorities for the year ahead – strengthening investor protections and capital markets, advancing green energy and AI, and improving regional connectivity – set the tone for the whole event."

The comments come as Uzbekistan's banking sector emerges as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the country's economic opening. Once dominated by state-directed lending, the sector has become increasingly attractive to international investors, supported by strong economic growth, banking reforms and rising foreign investment. The sector is due to be privatised but while much of the preparatory work has been done, the sell-off is yet to start.

NBU remains at the centre of the transition

With $12.3bn in assets, a network of around 700 correspondent banks across 80 countries and more than 6.2mn retail customers, the bank remains Uzbekistan's largest lender by assets while simultaneously financing some of the country's biggest infrastructure projects.

"When I started, NBU was still very much a legacy institution in its structure, even though it had decades of trade-finance experience behind it," Mirsoatov told IntelliNews. "Today we're a joint-stock bank with $12.3bn in assets, a credit rating from three major agencies, and a correspondent network of roughly 700 banks across 80 countries."

"What I'm proudest of isn't any single number – it's that the bank's growth has tracked almost exactly with the country's own."

That growth has been striking. NBU's assets have expanded from around $8.1bn in 2021 to more than $12bn today, broadly matching Uzbekistan's economic expansion, with national GDP rising from approximately $100bn to $147bn over the same period. The country's economy grew 7.7% in real terms in 2025, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in Eurasia.

Shift towards retail

The biggest strategic change has been the deliberate shift away from reliance on large state-owned corporates towards retail banking and small businesses in line with the rapidly expanding population – Uzbekistan is one of the few countries in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) space that is enjoying a growing population, while everyone else is in the midst of a demographic crisis.

Retail and SME lending has increased from around 8% of NBU's loan book in 2021 to almost 21% today, while deposits grew by more than 40% over the past year.

"NBU's historical strength was always corporate and trade finance," the chairman said. "But a bank with over 6.2mn individual clients and 132 service offices across every region of the country has an obligation – and an opportunity – to serve households and small businesses directly."

He added that the strategy also makes commercial sense.

"It's also sound diversification: retail lending tends to carry better margins and spreads funding risk across a much larger base of depositors rather than concentrating it in a handful of large corporate relationships,” Mirsoatov said.

The stronger retail franchise has helped underpin profitability. Net profit has increased roughly six-fold since 2021, supported by higher net interest income and improving asset quality.

The bank's non-performing loan ratio has fallen from 4.49% to 2.84%, while reserve coverage has risen to almost 200%.

International markets

NBU has also become one of Uzbekistan's most active borrowers on international capital markets.

Its debut $300mn Eurobond on the London Stock Exchange in 2020 carried a 4.85% coupon, marking one of the country's first major international debt issues after economic liberalisation.

"It reflected real investor confidence at a time when Uzbekistan itself was still building its international profile," the chairman said.

Since then, the investor base has broadened significantly, with growing participation from Middle Eastern institutions alongside European and US investors.

More recently, NBU became one of the first Uzbek banks to issue international bonds denominated in the local currency, the soum, a move the chairman said reflected growing investor confidence in the country's macroeconomic stability.

"That international investors are willing to take direct exposure to the Uzbek soum, rather than insisting everything be dollar-denominated, says something about how the currency and the broader macroeconomic picture have stabilised,” Mirsoatov said.

China partnership

International partnerships remain another pillar of the bank's strategy. Just days after TIIF, NBU signed a CNY700mn ($100mn) loan agreement in Beijing with the Export-Import Bank of China, extending a relationship that now spans more than two decades.

According to the chairman, NBU and the Chinese policy bank have completed more than 27 major infrastructure projects and financed over 170 SME projects, while total yuan-denominated credit lines now exceed CNY11.5bn ($1.7bn).

The latest financing will support imports of Chinese equipment, investment projects and expanding bilateral trade, which grew 34% last year to more than $17bn.

Financing Uzbekistan's ambitions

Despite the growing retail focus, NBU continues to finance many of Uzbekistan's flagship development projects, including railways, airports, tourism infrastructure and the country's largest mining companies.

"We've committed over $6bn in financing just for Uzbekistan Railways, gold producer Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Company (NMMC) and Uzbekistan Airways," the chairman said. "These sectors – mining, transport, tourism and aviation – are exactly where Uzbekistan's export diversification strategy is focused."

Looking ahead, the chairman said his priority was maintaining underwriting discipline while expanding digital banking and retail services.

"Our 2026 targets call for assets to reach roughly $12.9bn and net profit around $230mn, with SME and retail lending continuing to expand as a share of the book," Mirsoatov said.

His longer-term ambition extends beyond the bank itself.

"The national strategy targets GDP of $200bn and upper-middle-income status by 2030," he said. "I want NBU to be the institution that demonstrates what that transition looks like done well – a bank whose scale and governance can stand alongside any regional peer."