NBS: Serbians borrowed 240 billion dinars, 87% cash loans
The National Bank of Serbia reports new dinar loans to households up 9.9% in the second quarter of 2026, with an average rate of 6.5% on all new loans.
Households were approved 240 billion dinars in new dinar loans in the second quarter of 2026 (about 2.05 billion euros at an approximate rate of 117 dinars), according to the National Bank of Serbia’s report on the dinarization of the financial system. That is almost 22 billion dinars, or 9.9%, more than in the first quarter of the same year.
How much are Serbians borrowing in cash?
Cash loans make up 87% of all newly approved dinar loans to households. Biznis.rs, reporting on the document, notes that 99.9% of these loans are issued in dinars with repayment terms longer than five years.
The NBS said in its report that household loans in the second quarter were approved “in an exceptionally high amount in both currencies.” Dinar lending to households grew by 63.8 billion dinars, and euro-indexed lending by 31.4 billion. Among euro-indexed loans, housing loans lead, helped by the housing loan program for young people.
Total loans to businesses and households rose by 175 billion dinars (about 1.5 billion euros) over the quarter, of which 95 billion dinars was household borrowing. The dinarization rate for lending to households stands at 56.9%, a record and 1.1 percentage points higher than a year earlier. In newly approved deals with households, the dinar share is 77.4%.
What are the interest rates?
The average interest rate on all newly approved loans is 6.5%, up 0.1 percentage points from the end of the previous quarter. Rates on dinar loans rose by 0.1 points to 8%, and on foreign currency loans by 0.3 points to 5.1%. The increase on foreign currency loans is tied to the European Central Bank raising its benchmark rates in the second half of June.
For households, the average rates break down as follows:
- loans to households overall: 7.6%
- dinar loans: 8.4%, of which cash loans 8.4% and consumer loans 3.2%
- dinar housing loans: 10.7%, down 0.8 percentage points
- foreign currency indexed loans: 4.7%, of which housing loans 4.4% and consumer loans 5.4%
What is happening with business lending?
Lending to companies grew by 80 billion dinars over the quarter, and newly approved dinar loans to businesses rose 63% to a record 135.5 billion dinars. Working capital loans account for 66% of that amount.
What loan measures were introduced in 2025?
The figures come after a package of measures adopted in 2025. It capped the interest rate on cash loans at 7.5% for incomes up to 100,000 dinars, and limited margins to 20% on about 3,000 products in 23 groups at large retail chains.
