People's Bank's capital up by 2.6bn soums in 1Q 2008

In the first quarter 2008 the capital of the People's Bank increased by 2.6 billion soums to some 40 billion soums, the bank's press service said. The assets of the bank have increased by 25% to over 360 billion soums. By the early April the bank's credit portfolio reached some 170 billion soums. In the first quarter of this year the bank extended 61 billion soums in loans to corporate entities and individuals. Almost a third of these funds was used for the implementation of the investment projects, as a result of which about 1,900 new jobs have already been created. Apart from this, since the beginning of the year almost 350 citizens of Uzbekistan have improved their living conditions by purchasing housing with the financial assistance of the bank. Along with this, the branches of the bank have extended over 5 billion soums to the population in consumer loans for the purchasing of durable goods. The system of non-cash payments is also being developed. In the first three months of this year another 12,000 people became plastic cardholders of the People's Bank. Today, the structure of the bank includes 427 branches and mini-banks, and over 2,500 offices and cash desks