The Senate approved amendments to the Advertising Law on August 7 that will require mandatory financial-risk warnings in advertisements for loans and microloans.
Senators tied the need for the changes to rising consumer lending and household debt levels. According to Central Bank data, the number of people taking out microloans from commercial banks reached nearly 2.7 million as of January 1, 2026 — up 37% year-on-year. The average number of microloan agreements per borrower also rose, from 1.7 to 1.9.
The report accompanying the bill noted that advertisements for credit products should not only disclose loan terms but also warn consumers about the consequences of misjudging their own repayment capacity or failing to meet debt obligations.
The amendments go beyond credit advertising. Information aimed at improving insurance literacy among the public and businesses is to be classified as social advertising. In addition, authorized state agencies in relevant sectors will be permitted to serve as advertisers of such social information.
The bill's authors expect the changes to expand public access to reliable information about insurance services, boost trust in them, and simultaneously improve awareness among the population and entrepreneurs about the financial risks tied to borrowing.
Warnings must cover at least 10% of an ad
The amendments add a requirement to Article 43 of the Advertising Law mandating a risk warning in any advertisement for a loan, including microloans.
"Advertising for a loan, including a microloan, must contain a warning that failure to meet debt obligations under such services may result in financial risk. This warning must occupy no less than 10% of the ad's total space or airtime," the provision presented to senators states.
A broader requirement is also being introduced for financial-services advertising generally: such ads must include a warning that using these services, and failing to meet related obligations, can create financial risk.
During the discussion, Senator Pokiza Akhmedjanova asked how realistic it would be to enforce the 10% warning-space requirement.
Ulugbek Davletov, deputy chairman of the Competition and Consumer Rights Protection Committee, responded that a similar mechanism is already used under existing law.
"By analogy with existing legislation, warnings and supplementary information must occupy 10% of advertising space. Such requirements are currently in place, for instance, for pharmaceuticals, alcohol products and entertainment events," he said.
He added that, as a result, enforcing similar warning requirements for financial-services advertising should not pose major difficulties.
The committee representative also noted that standard dimensions already exist for outdoor advertising structures. As examples, he cited city-format displays at 2 square meters, billboards at 18 square meters, and mega-format structures at 50 square meters — sizes that, he said, allow for concrete mechanisms to monitor whether the required warning space is being met.
AI to help monitor online ads
The Competition and Consumer Rights Protection Committee is also developing a mechanism to monitor online advertising using artificial intelligence.
The system is intended, among other things, to help quickly verify compliance with the 10% warning-space requirement and to monitor such advertisements on an ongoing basis.
It was reported earlier that Uzbekistan household debt had quintupled over six years to reach 231 trillion soums, or nearly US$ 20 billion.
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