Tabakovic: Serbia's banking sector stable, highly liquid and profitable

BELGRADE - National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic says Serbia's banking sector is stable, highly liquid and profitable.

"The key indicators of banking operations in Serbia are considerably above the regulatory values, while the share of NPLs in overall loans is close to an all-time low," Tabakovic said on Tuesday at the opening of the 2023 Bankers Summit, hosted by the Association of Serbian Banks.

Tabakovic said the measure of capping interest rates on variable interest rate housing loans had in no way endangered the operations of the Serbian banking sector but helped maintain financial stability by preventing a rise of NPLs.

"The measure also increases the population's available revenues, but on a scale that is not jeopardising the strongly declining trajectory of inflation, because it accounts for around 0.3 pct of the total annual consumption of Serbian households," Tabakovic said.

She also said the measure was contributing to recovery of consumption, which she noted was necessary for achieving the desired economic growth.

Tabakovic also said the assets of commercial banks operating in Serbia totalled around 50 bln euros and were up by 80 pct compared to 2012.