According to the latest data from Serbia’s Public Debt Administration (July 2025), the largest holders of Serbian debt are buyers of eurobonds, holding €10.3 billion. Next are holders of long-term government securities in dinars, with €7.1 billion.
Notably, commercial banks have rapidly emerged as major creditors. Their loans to the state now total €4.3 billion—up from just €198 million in July 2020, when they weren’t even among the top ten creditors.
Forbes Serbia notes that this shift in the creditor landscape reflects changes following the pandemic and subsequent global inflationary pressures, which made borrowing more expensive and reduced available financing options. Despite these conditions, Serbia’s public debt has grown from €26.9 billion in 2020 to €38.5 billion today.
In the past year alone, Poštanska štedionica lent over €1 billion to the state, becoming one of the largest domestic creditors. Other commercial banks are increasingly involved in funding large infrastructure projects, including highways, the EXPO event, and the National Stadium.
Although public finance auditors have warned that borrowing from domestic banks is typically more expensive than from international lenders, the government appears to find it simpler and faster to obtain loans from commercial banks.
The data highlights a dramatic increase in commercial bank lending: from under €200 million in 2020 to nearly €4.3 billion in 2025—an increase of over 2,000%. In 2021, bank loans were €285 million, rising to €712 million in 2022, over €2 billion in 2023, and doubling again over the past two years.
