Tabakovic: Serbia's banking system stable, capable of supporting economic growth

BELGRADE - Serbia's banking sector is stable and capable of supporting economic growth and improvement of living standards, National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic said at the Regional Panel of Bank Supervisors, held in Belgrade on October 2–3.

"Banks are adequately capitalised, profitable, and maintain high liquidity reserves, while the share of non-performing loans has been further reduced to a historic low of 2.21 pct at the end of August 2025,” Tabakovic said at the opening of the panel.

She underlined that the "strong performance and preserved stability of Serbia’s banking sector are largely the result of the NBS’s regulatory activities, carefully tailored to the specific needs and characteristics of the domestic market," the NBS said in a statement.

"The NBS’s efforts have been aimed at establishing rules for the safe and stable operation of banks, protecting the interests of depositors and other creditors, and strengthening both the banking system and the financial system as a whole.

On this occasion, the Governor also highlighted a number of activities recently undertaken by the NBS to improve banking operations and strengthen consumer protection in the financial sector:

- In early 2025, the NBS supported the government housing loan programme for young people.

- In March 2025, a new Law on the Protection of Financial Service Consumers was adopted, providing a comprehensive and systemic long-term solution to the issue of interest rate caps on all retail credit products.

- In August 2025, as part of support to government measures to improve citizens’ living standards, the NBS issued supervisory expectations to banks offering consumer and cash loans in dinars, as well as housing loans, to update their current offers so that employees and pensioners with regular monthly incomes of up to 100,000 dinars could access these credit products under more favourable conditions. All banks complied with these expectations, and many even went beyond them by offering terms more favourable than those initially outlined by the NBS.

- In September 2025, the NBS adopted the Decision on Loan Repayment Relief with the aim of easing the financial burden on citizens and strengthening consumer protection. Under this Decision, banks are required to apply reasonable forbearance measures that facilitate loan repayment if, during the contractual relationship, circumstances arise that place the borrowers in severe financial distress or other significant circumstances beyond their control," the NBS said.

"The Regional Panel of Supervisors was established as a platform for bank supervisors from across the region to exchange experiences and discuss the challenges faced in their work. Over the course of two days, participants addressed current issues of importance for banking supervision. This year’s discussions focused on topics such as the licensing of bank governing board members, the supervisory review process, the conduct of on-site supervision, and the development of supervision and regulation in an increasingly dynamic and uncertain environment," the central bank also said.