Serbia’s financial system entered mid-2026 with substantial liquidity, strong domestic deposits and sizeable foreign-exchange reserves, while banking and real-economy data pointed to an uneven investment environment.
The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) reported foreign-exchange reserves of €29.88 billion at the end of May 2026. Banks held a further €3.19 billion, bringing the combined reserve position to approximately €33.07 billion.
The reserve stock supports the managed exchange-rate framework, confidence in the dinar and the financial system’s capacity to absorb external pressures. Serbia remains exposed to energy imports, euro-linked borrowing, foreign direct investment flows, portfolio movements, external-debt refinancing and demand from European Union export markets.
Monetary Liquidity and Banking-System Scale
Broad money M3 stood at RSD 5.60 trillion at the end of May, while M2 reached RSD 2.82 trillion and M1 totalled RSD 2.09 trillion. Cash in circulation amounted to RSD 412.6 billion. Annual growth in M3 was 9.59%, compared with 9.25% for M2 and 8.11% for M1.
Total assets in Serbia’s banking system reached RSD 9.81 trillion in May. Banks’ own balance-sheet assets were RSD 7.50 trillion, while the NBS reported balance-sheet assets of RSD 3.83 trillion. Claims on the non-government sector stood at RSD 4.28 trillion. Household claims accounted for RSD 2.08 trillion, exceeding claims on corporate enterprises of RSD 1.80 trillion.
The lending structure shows continued financing of households, retail lending, housing-related credit and consumer finance. Corporate lending remained substantial, although the data did not show a dominant investment-led credit cycle.
Deposits Support Domestic Funding
Deposits held by non-monetary sectors totalled RSD 5.13 trillion in May 2026. Household deposits reached RSD 2.85 trillion, while enterprise deposits stood at RSD 1.93 trillion. The domestic deposit base provides banks with stable funding and reduces reliance on external wholesale financing. Household savings remain a major funding source for the banking sector.
Corporate deposits also indicate that companies maintained liquidity during a period marked by higher financing costs, uncertain EU demand, energy-price volatility and weaker foreign-direct-investment momentum. The data show that corporate liquidity was not matched by an equivalent acceleration in new production capacity The NBS reference interest rate remained at 5.75%. The policy setting reflected inflation pressures, energy-price sensitivity and the role of the dinar in the country’s financial framework.
Growth and Industrial Indicators
Serbia’s gross domestic product increased 3.2% year on year in the first quarter of 2026. Current-price GDP for the quarter was RSD 2.56 trillion. Industrial data available through April showed total industrial production at 101.7 against the 2025 average of 100. Manufacturing stood at 104.6, while electricity, gas and steam supply was at 88.1.
Manufacturing activity remained above the 2025 average, while the weaker energy component affected industrial costs, inflation, import needs, export competitiveness and energy-related documentation requirements for EU-linked supply chains.
Construction data were also below the 2025 average during the first quarter. The value index of completed construction works stood at 68.6, while completed dwellings were at 61.2. The figures partly reflected seasonality, while infrastructure, EXPO-related investment, roads, railways, utilities and housing remained part of Serbia’s investment pipeline.
Labour Costs and Producer Prices
Registered employment was approximately 2.31 million in April. Registered unemployment fell to 337,000 in May. The average net wage in March was RSD 121,650, while the average gross wage was RSD 167,263. Wage growth supported household consumption and loan repayment capacity while also affecting labour costs for companies and exporters.
Industrial producer prices for the domestic market were 8.4% higher year on year in May and increased 0.1% month on month. The data showed continued cost pressure within domestic production.
Fiscal and External-Debt Position
Consolidated public revenues reached RSD 390.6 billion in April, while expenditures totalled RSD 383.8 billion, resulting in a monthly surplus of approximately RSD 6.7 billion. For the first four months of 2026, the cumulative fiscal balance was negative by roughly RSD 106.2 billion, following deficits in January, February and March. Serbia’s full-year fiscal deficit was RSD 252.8 billion in 2025, compared with RSD 191.9 billion in 2024.
At the end of 2025, Serbia’s external debt stood at €49.15 billion. The public sector accounted for €26.05 billion, while the private sector held €23.11 billion.
The May bulletin showed a financial system supported by foreign-exchange reserves, domestic deposits, expanding monetary aggregates and banking-sector liquidity. It also showed stronger household lending than corporate claims, a resilient manufacturing index, weaker energy-sector output, softer early-year construction data and continued producer-price pressure. Corporate lending, deposits and banking-system capacity remain central to financing machinery, export capacity, energy efficiency, logistics, digitalisation, domestic suppliers and industrial upgrading.
