68 Percent of New Household Loans Were Cash Loans
Credit activity rose 16.6 percent year on year in June, a National Bank of Serbia report shows, with cash loans making up nearly two thirds of new household borrowing.
Cash loans accounted for 68 percent of all new loans approved to Serbian households in the second quarter of 2026, according to a report on credit activity trends published today by the National Bank of Serbia (NBS). Part of that amount, the central bank notes, relates to the refinancing of loans previously granted to lower income borrowers, in line with its supervisory expectations.
Overall credit activity kept growing in June, up 16.6 percent year on year once the effect of exchange rate changes is excluded. That is slightly below the March figure, but still a fast pace that has now held for several quarters in a row.
Growth continues to be driven mainly by household borrowing. Loans to households were up 20 percent year on year in June, a touch below the 20.9 percent rate recorded in March. Loans to companies grew 11.7 percent, also a slight slowdown from the 12 percent growth seen in March.
In absolute terms, household loans grew by 95 billion dinars, or 4.7 percent, during the quarter, reaching a total of 2,101 billion dinars in June, half of all bank credit claims on the non monetary sector. Corporate loans rose by 67.5 billion dinars, or 3.5 percent, to 1,977.1 billion dinars, about 47 percent of total lending.
Most of the increase in corporate lending, 65 percent, went to micro, small and medium enterprises, whose share of total corporate loans climbed to 60.7 percent, with year on year growth of 12.6 percent. The heaviest borrowing came from companies in construction, real estate and trade. Transport and energy were the only two sectors where borrowing declined.
For households, the volume of newly approved loans reached 311 billion dinars, 15 percent more than in the same period of 2025. Cash loans led with 68 percent, followed by home loans with a 19 percent share.
Who Is Paying More to Borrow
Interest rates rose on almost every type of loan. The average weighted interest rate on newly approved dinar loans to companies rose from 6.8 percent in the first quarter. Sources differ here: Biznis.rs puts the new rate at 7.1 percent, while Tanjug reports 7.2 percent. The rate on euro indexed corporate loans rose from 4.9 to 5.1 percent.
For households, the dinar interest rate rose by 0.1 percentage points, to 8.4 percent, mainly because of higher prices on cash loans, the most common type. The dinar interest rate on home loans, by contrast, fell to 10.7 percent, while the euro indexed rate on household loans stayed unchanged at 4.7 percent.
Fewer Problem Loans, Higher Dinarization
The share of problem loans in total lending fell in June to 2 percent, the lowest level the NBS has on record. At the same time, the dinarization of total loans to companies and households climbed to 40.7 percent, up from 39.7 percent in March, its highest level yet.
The National Bank attributes these favorable conditions to the earlier easing of monetary policy by the NBS itself and the European Central Bank, together with measures that let banks lend on better terms to lower income households, as well as loans from youth programs for first home purchases.
