Paper long abstract:

The paper analyzes the current situation on the deposit market of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Kazakhstan and shows that it refl ects the essence of the fi nancial intermediation of functional participants of the credit market. By attracting disposable fi - nancial resources of individuals and legal persons in the form of deposits, commercial banks assume new obligations but at the same time put forward new requirements to borrowers. The problem is that fi nancial intermediaries should take into account not only correlation between the quantitative nature of their deposit base and their investment in the loan portfolios of clients but also the best correlation between the nature of profi table assets and the specifi c nature of raised funds.

Paper long abstract:

Access to finance is one of the biggest obstacles facing the development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) all over the world. The studies show that growth and development of the SME sector is strongly linked with sustainable access to financial resources. This paper examines the SMEs' access to banking finance in the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU): Kazakhstan, Russia, Armenia and Belarus. We analyzed macroeconomic indicators hampering SMEs' access to banking finance by using BVAR model (time series data) for Kyrgyzstan, Random Effects (RE) model (panel data) for EAEU member states and annual data from 1997 to 2017. As a result of the evaluation, for the SMEs in Kyrgyzstan factors hampering access to banking finance are the high level of non-performing loans, tax rate and money supply (M2) indicator. In the countries of the EAEU the following indicators hamper the small businesses' access to bank loans: high interest rate of loans given to small businesses, high volume of non-performing loans and the exchange rate of National currency to USD. What should be underlined that within EAEU area countries for SMEs access to banking finance the following indicators do not influence at all: political stability, competitiveness index and consumer price index (CPI). As for SMEs in Kyrgyzstan, the indicators that do not have much significance level are exchange rate of KGS to USD and money supply, which describes M2 aggregate. We argue that relying on the findings of the study it should enable banks and policy makers within Eurasian Economic Union to pay attention to and enhance their serving of the needs of SMEs. Finally, it also provides member states with useful insights into factors and issues relating to constraints in obtaining funds from banks, and some key factors to help develop their businesses.

Paper short abstract:

Paper long abstract:

The question of integrating into regional and global organizations/blocs is a pressing one for the countries of Central Asia and the Southern Caucasus. For that reason, I have analyzed the current integration level of these countries. The paper utilizes 11 economic, social and political indicators which later have been used to developed 5 indexes in order to measure the overall level of integration of six countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The results have implied that these countries are not integrated to the global economy in significant levels. Among them, the most integrated states are Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan whilst Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan take the last two places.

On the other hand, further analysis has shown that all of these countries, even the isolated Turkmenistan, still possess strong economic and political ties to the Russian Federation.

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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.