Serbia’s financial system is gradually reducing its dependence on the euro, with the share of dinar-denominated loans and deposits increasing among households and businesses. Latest data from the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) show that the shift has become increasingly visible in lending, corporate deposits and household savings.
The dinar share of household loans climbed from 35.1% in 2012 to 56.9% in August 2026. Across households and companies combined, dinar-denominated lending accounted for 40.6% of total loans.
Dinar Deposits and Household Savings Increase
Deposits have followed a similar pattern. Dinar deposits held by households and companies represented 46.3% of total deposits in August 2026, an increase of 27 percentage points compared with the end of 2012.
Household dinar savings also reached a new record. During the first nine months of 2026, they increased by RSD44.2 billion to RSD250.4 billion, equivalent to approximately EUR2.14 billion using an editorial exchange-rate conversion of RSD117.2 per euro. The shift is also evident in corporate banking. Dinar deposits accounted for 61.3% of total company deposits, indicating that businesses are increasingly holding funds in the national currency.
Currency Mismatches Remain a Financial Risk
The growing use of the dinar is relevant to financial stability because foreign-currency borrowing can expose households and companies to exchange-rate movements. Households that receive income in dinars but repay euro-denominated loans face a mismatch between their earnings and debt obligations. Companies with domestic-currency revenues and euro liabilities are exposed to the same risk.
A stable exchange rate can conceal this vulnerability over extended periods, but a significant currency movement can increase the cost of servicing foreign-currency debt. Greater dinarisation reduces this mismatch by aligning borrowing and deposits more closely with the currency in which households and businesses generate income.
Greater Scope for Monetary Policy Transmission
A higher share of dinar-denominated financial products also strengthens the transmission of monetary policy. Changes in NBS interest rates have a more direct effect on borrowers and depositors when loans and savings are denominated in the national currency controlled by the central bank. Serbia’s relative exchange-rate stability and lower inflation over the past decade have supported this process. Confidence in the dinar is important for encouraging households and companies to hold savings in the domestic currency rather than seek protection against expected depreciation.
The transition remains incomplete. The euro continues to serve as a reference currency across significant parts of the economy, particularly in property pricing, while banks still offer euro-indexed financial products.
The NBS also maintains a structural systemic-risk capital buffer linked to foreign-currency and foreign-currency-indexed exposures, reflecting the continued significance of euroisation as a vulnerability within the financial system.
