OREANDA-NEWS. July 22, 2008. The aggregate capital of Uzbek commercial banks in the first half of 2008 grew by 40.6% as compared with the same period of 2007, press service of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan said.

The Board of the Central Bank held meeting to discuss results of banking system activity in the first six months of 2008 and implementation of priority directions set by the President Islam Karimov at the session of the Cabinet of Ministers.

It was noted during the meeting that the rigid monetary-credit policy pursued by the Central Bank in January-June 2008 was aimed at strengthening macroeconomic stability. The bank's refinancing rate was unchanged at 14% APR in order to prevent inflation expectations in the country's economy.

Special attention in the reporting period was paid to further increase of the level of capitalization of commercial banks, ensuring their financial stability, expanding the participation of banks in the investment processes and strengthening competition among them.

Thus, the aggregate capital of local commercial banks in the first half of 2008 grew by 40,6% and reached 1,65 trillion soums (some US1,26 billion).