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Paper long abstract:

Since the accession to power of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in December 2016, Uzbekistan has entered a period of swift political & public policy reform. The government initiated a broad array of economic reforms and actively sought to attract foreign direct investment & capital inflows. Liberalization of the foreign exchange regime became an early step & important signal of the government's economic reform trajectory. Begun in September 2017, the policy change sought to remove a significant obstacle to foreign direct investment, international capital, and integration with the global economy.

As in the case of the liberalization of the foreign exchange regime, the Uzbek banking sector has been both an important target of the economic reform agenda as well as critical transmission mechanism for economic change. Going forward, the structure, practices, and policies of the Uzbek banking sectors will be the subject of significant policy reform and will be critical to the implementation & success of a broad array of reform initiatives.

This paper analyzes the structures & economic functions of the Uzbek banking sector in recent post-Soviet history. Based upon this analysis, I review key reforms in banking legislation & regulation, considering the impact on key institutions, policies, and practices of the banking sector, and consider the concomitant impact on the sector's role in the real economy. Finally, I evaluate the role of the Uzbek banking sector in private sector economic growth & development going forward, particularly with respect to financial deepening, capital allocation, corporate governance, and as a transmission mechanism for emerging monetary policy & economic reform initiatives.