Explanation of Amendments to the Regulation on the Registration of Banks and Licensing of Their Activities

EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS TO THE REGULATION ON THE REGISTRATION OF BANKS AND LICENSING OF THEIR ACTIVITIES

The Decision of the Board of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 34/5 dated November 5, 2011, "On Amendments and Additions to the Regulation on the Registration of Banks and Licensing of Their Activities" was registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan on December 14, 2011, under No. 2014-3.

During the period of independence, vast reforms have been implemented in the banking system, as in all sectors of our country's economy. In particular, within the framework of reforms being implemented, the requirements of a number of normative legal documents regulating the banking system have been improved.

Among these, the amendments introduced to the Regulation on the Registration of Banks and Licensing of Their Activities can be noted. These amendments were developed in accordance with Article 51 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan," Article 11 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Banks and Banking Activity," and the Decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 283 dated October 17, 2011, "On Additional Measures Concerning the Reduction of State Management Functions in Eliminating Bureaucratic Barriers and Implementing Permitting Procedures."

Accordingly, a number of amendments and additions were introduced into the Regulation, which are stated in the following wording. In particular:

According to the first paragraph of Clause 68 of the Regulation, the deadline for submitting documents for re-examination when issuing initial permission for the establishment of a bank was required not to exceed fifteen working days. Based on the introduced amendments, it is emphasized that starting from December 24, 2011, the deadline for submitting documents for re-examination shall be proportional to the time necessary for eliminating deficiencies.

Furthermore, in order to further increase the accessibility of information about commercial banks for users, in accordance with Clause 73 of the Regulation, data available in the license registries shall be posted on the website of the Central Bank and be open for review.

Also, in accordance with the amendment adopted under Clause 97 of the Regulation, the requirement for prior consent of the Central Bank for bank branches based on the decision of the Bank Council in accordance with legislative acts is abolished. Consequently, taking into account the abolition of the requirements of the aforementioned clause, Clauses 98–102 of the Regulation lose their force.

We believe that such introduced amendments, such as simplifying the process of registering commercial banks and licensing their activities, further clarifying the relevant documents for opening branches, and ensuring the accessibility of information for users, will have a positive result in the formation of a free competitive environment among commercial banks.

Sh. Khaliyarov Deputy Director of the Department for Licensing and Regulation of Credit Institutions' Activities Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan