Entrepreneurs in Serbia had the highest reported proportion of overdue bank loans among the three borrower categories monitored by the Association of Serbian Banks (UBS), with arrears accounting for 3.3% of their outstanding credit at the end of October.
The corresponding shares stood at 2.3% for legal entities and 1.1% for households, according to the association’s credit report. The figures are calculated using different overdue-payment thresholds, limiting direct comparisons between borrower groups.
Different Arrears Measurement Periods
UBS classifies loans to entrepreneurs and companies as overdue when payments remain unpaid for more than 15 days. For household loans, the threshold is more than 60 days.
The shorter period applied to businesses can result in a higher reported arrears share than the household indicator, without necessarily demonstrating a corresponding difference in underlying creditworthiness or default risk.
The figures nevertheless place business liquidity among the relevant factors in assessing repayment performance. Entrepreneurs may rely on a relatively small customer base and have limited capacity to absorb delayed payments for goods and services they have supplied.
Working-capital loans, overdrafts and supplier credit can be important to their daily operations, alongside longer-term investment financing. The October UBS report does not identify the industries or individual businesses responsible for the overdue amounts.
Export Growth and Business Cash Flow
Serbia’s goods exports increased 8.9% in euro terms during the first nine months of 2026, according to the Statistical Office. Export growth does not necessarily translate into improved liquidity across the entire small-business sector, as many domestic service providers and subcontractors do not participate directly in export supply chains.
Their cash-flow conditions can differ from those of large multinational manufacturers, depending on customer payment schedules and the timing of receipts and expenses.
When assessing lending to entrepreneurs, banks need to distinguish temporary delays in invoice settlement from continuing cash deficits. Relevant factors include customer concentration, contractual payment periods, tax obligations, the refinancing of short-term debt and exposure to energy costs and imported raw-material prices.
Overall Arrears Continue to Decline
Across the banking portfolio, the UBS arrears indicator fell to 1.8% at the end of October, compared with 2.0% a year earlier.
The aggregate figure provides a broader measure of payment delays, while the entrepreneur-specific share highlights differences within the borrower categories. Assessing business credit risk therefore requires closer examination of individual cash flows and access to predictable payment and working-capital arrangements.
