By the end of 2021, the National Bank will place on the Moscow Exchange the debut issue of bonds 
Sovcombank will become the organizer of the debut issue of ruble bonds of the largest commercial bank of Uzbekistan National Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan (NBU or National Bank). Earlier, the Bank of Russia made a decision on admission to placement and public circulation in the Russian Federation of four issues of bonds of the National Bank. This was reported to “Lente.ru” in the press service of Sovcombank.
By the end of 2021, the National Bank plans to place the debut issue of its bonds denominated in Russian rubles on the Moscow Exchange. The Russian regulator made such a decision for the first time in relation to the bonds of a foreign commercial bank, the placement will be the first ever exit of a bank from the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Russian debt market, Sovcombank noted. Until now, foreign financial institutions have not placed ruble bonds on the Moscow Exchange. The exact parameters of the issue and the date of placement will be determined later.
The NBU (National Bank) is carrying out a stage-by-stage preparation of the first issue of bonds on the Russian market from the moment of signing an agreement on the admission of securities of issuers of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the market of the Russian Federation. The Bank of Russia and the Agency for the Development of the Capital Market of the Republic of Uzbekistan signed an admission agreement in April 2021, and in May the National Bank selected the organizing banks to prepare the placement. In addition to Sovcombank, these include Gazprombank, Rosselkhozbank and a subsidiary bank of the NBU in Russia – Asia-Invest Bank. The banks signed a corresponding agreement in September 2021, within the framework of the forum “Uzbekistan: Results and Prospects of Economic Reforms”.
National Bank, in preparation for the placement of debut bonds on the Russian market, together with the organizing banks, went through the identification procedure (KYC) on the Moscow Exchange. An opinion was received from the Moscow Exchange on the possibility of admitting the bonds to a public offering and circulation in Russia; work is being completed on assigning credit ratings to the Republic of Uzbekistan and the NBU by one of the accredited Russian rating agencies.
“Without exaggeration, the NBU placement may become a landmark event on the Russian stock market – foreign commercial banks and Uzbek borrowers, in general, have not yet placed ruble bonds on the Moscow Exchange. But the main thing, of course, is that the exit of the largest, systemically important bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan will serve as an additional incentive for the development of trade and economic relations between our countries, ”commented the deputy chairman, board member, head of the corporate and investment business of Sovcombank Mikhail Autukhov.
Founded in 1991, the National Bank is the largest commercial bank in Uzbekistan in terms of assets, loan portfolio, capital, deposits and net profit. The NBU is wholly owned by the state and is a systemically important bank of the republic.
Historically, the NBU has performed the functions of financing investment projects in strategic sectors of the economy of Uzbekistan. Since 2019, the National Bank has been transforming towards a market business model within the framework of economic reforms in the country. Currently, the NBU offers a full range of credit, financial, cash settlement and other banking services.
National Bank is represented in international capital markets – in 2020, the bank placed USD 300 million in bonds on the London Stock Exchange in the Main segment Market. The bank's financial stability is confirmed by credit ratings assigned by reputable international agencies: “BB-” (stable outlook) according to S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.