EBRD deepens cooperation with Mortgage Refinancing Company of Uzbekistan

• EBRD lends US$ 50 million to Mortgage Refinancing Company of Uzbekistan
• Funds to contribute to residential mortgage market development and inclusive lending
• UzMRC to strengthen its role in mortgage market development and standardisation

The residential mortgage market in Uzbekistan is set to receive a major boost from a US$ 50 million (€42.7 million) provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Mortgage Refinancing Company of Uzbekistan (UzMRC).

The loan, which will be disbursed in synthetic local currency, will help the country’s only mortgage refinancing institution to secure medium-term local-currency funding and support the further development of the residential mortgage market in Uzbekistan.

It will also help to strengthen UzMRC’s role in advancing mortgage market development, promoting standardised mortgage lending practices, improving access to affordable housing finance and encouraging greater participation by private-sector financial institutions.

The project will contribute to the development of a commercially viable, market-based mortgage ecosystem. It will promote standardised underwriting and improved risk management among financial institutions of Uzbekistan.

It is expected that at least 20 per cent of the project funds will be channelled to support mortgage loans to women. This will improve their access to specialised financing instruments and help them become owners of real estate.

Founded in 2019 with the support of the state and local banks, UzMRC is a financial institution supervised by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan. It does not provide subsidised lending, but serves as a secondary mortgage aggregator and lender, providing long-term funding to partner commercial banks of all sizes, both private and state-owned, secured against eligible and performing residential mortgages.

To date, the EBRD has invested almost US$ 6.9 billion (€6 billion) in Uzbekistan through 210 projects, with most of the funds supporting private entrepreneurship. The country has been the leading recipient of EBRD funding in Central Asia for each of the past six years.