In April, average interest rates on bank deposits in the national currency (Uzbek som) fell to 17.4% per annum, the lowest level since February 2022 (17.7%), according to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan. This marks a decrease of 0.7 percentage points from March and more than 2 percentage points year-on-year.
The most significant decline over the year was recorded for deposits with maturities of up to one year. The average rate on such deposits dropped to 15% per annum — 1.3 percentage points below the March level and 3.3 percentage points below April 2025. Such a low was last observed in December 2021.
For deposits in national currency with maturities of over one year, the average rate stood at 18.1% (the lowest since December 2022). It fell by 0.8 percentage points month-on-month and by 1.8 percentage points year-on-year.
The decline in profitability was observed across all segments. Rates on som deposits for individuals fell to 19% per annum, decreasing by 1.7 percentage points over the year.
In the short-term segment, banks offered an average of 18.5% per annum, down 2 percentage points from March and 2.1 percentage points from a year earlier. The yield on long-term accounts for individuals dropped to 20.1% for the first time since April 2021.
In real terms, i.e., excluding inflation expectations, deposit rates stood at 8.4%. Compared to March, they decreased by only 0.1 percentage points, but in annual terms they increased by 1.9 percentage points.
The average yield on som deposits for legal entities was 15% per annum (the lowest since January 2022). This is 0.5 percentage points below March and 2.4 percentage points below April last year.
The average rate on short-term corporate deposits fell to 13.9% for the first time since July 2023, a decrease of 3.7 percentage points. For deposits with maturities over one year, banks offered an average of 15.6% per annum, 1.7 percentage points lower than a year earlier.
In real terms, corporate deposit yields stood at 4.3%. They also decreased by 0.1 percentage points month-on-month and grew by only 0.2 percentage points year-on-year.
In April, average rates on foreign currency deposits were 4.1% per annum. This is 0.6 percentage points higher than in March, but the annual figure decreased by the same amount.
The monthly increase was driven by a rise in the yield on long-term foreign currency deposits to 5.2%, up 1.3 percentage points from March. Meanwhile, rates on short-term foreign currency deposits fell to 2.2%, down 0.2 percentage points month-on-month and 0.4 percentage points year-on-year.
The average yield on foreign currency deposits for individuals decreased slightly from March to 4.9%.
For businesses, rates on foreign currency accounts rose slightly to 2.8% per annum, mainly due to a sharp recovery in the long-term segment to 5.6%.
Source: www.gazeta.uz