The National Bank of Serbia has been conducting the Bank Lending Survey since 2014 with the aim of improving the analysis of developments in the credit market by gaining insight into the views of bank representatives regarding past changes both on the loan supply side and on the demand side of the private sector for loans. To achieve these objectives, the National Bank of Serbia publishes the Report on the Results of the Bank Lending Survey for the first quarter of 2026, which thoroughly examines trends in lending activity, borrowing costs for businesses and households, as well as conditions in the credit market determined by factors influencing both the supply of and demand for loans.

Additionally, the report on Lending Activity Trends for the first quarter of 2026 incorporates the results of the European Investment Bank survey developed under the Vienna Initiative 2 framework, with the objective of monitoring subsidiaries of international banking groups operating in Central and Southeastern Europe, all with the purpose of providing clear insight into their strategies, market conditions, and expectations.

Corporate Loans

After excluding the effects of exchange rate fluctuations, thereby obtaining constant-price or real growth in corporate lending, loans to businesses further accelerated their year-on-year growth during the first quarter of 2026, reaching 12.0% in March after having recorded 11.3% in December 2025. In nominal terms, the stock of corporate loans in the first quarter of 2026 amounted to RSD 1,910.2 billion, representing 47.7% of total bank claims on the non-monetary sector. The growth in corporate lending contributed to an increase in its share of GDP, with corporate loans accounting for 18.2% in March compared with 18.1% at the end of 2025.

Given the increase in corporate indebtedness reflected in the growth of liquidity and working capital loans by RSD 24.6 billion, corporate loans increased by RSD 27.0 billion during the first quarter of 2026. In contrast to this increase in corporate borrowing, outstanding balances of investment loans as well as import and export financing loans declined.

Observing the increase in corporate indebtedness from the perspective of business activities, companies operating in transportation, construction, and trade recorded the highest increases in borrowing during the first quarter, while a decline in indebtedness was recorded only among companies whose primary activities are agriculture and manufacturing. By introducing company size as an additional criterion into the existing categorization, accelerated year-on-year growth in loans granted to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises can be observed, reaching 11.6% in the first quarter of 2026. At the same time, the share of these enterprises in total corporate loans remained unchanged compared with the position at the end of 2025, remaining at 60.6%.

The total value of newly approved corporate loans in the first quarter of 2026 was 1.1% lower than in the corresponding period of 2025, amounting to RSD 289.1 billion. Liquidity and working capital loans remained the most represented category of corporate lending, while 21% of new loans consisted of investment loans, of which 74% were utilized by micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.

Despite growth in dinar-denominated and foreign currency-indexed corporate loans during the first quarter of 2026, the decline in other dinar placements, primarily advances and factoring, resulted in the dinarization rate of corporate lending standing at 22.8% in March, representing a decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared with the end of 2025. During the first quarter of 2026, as much as 81% of foreign currency and foreign currency-indexed loans were linked to EURIBOR, with loans tied to the three-month EURIBOR being the most prevalent. With regard to dinar-denominated corporate loans, 22% of loans linked to BELIBOR were predominantly tied to the three-month and one-month tenors.

The share of non-performing loans in total corporate lending remained unchanged compared with December 2025, remaining at 1.4%. When focusing exclusively on loans granted to corporate entities, the share of non-performing loans amounted to 1.6%, also remaining unchanged compared with the end of 2025. These low levels of non-performing loans in corporate lending reflect the timely implementation of adequate economic support measures provided during and after the pandemic. Owing to these support measures, and even following their expiration, the quality of banks’ assets was preserved, which is why the increase in corporate debt servicing costs during the monetary tightening cycle did not result in a significant increase in non-performing loans.

Borrowing costs for businesses maintained their favorable level during the first quarter of 2026, representing a direct result of the previous monetary policy easing undertaken by the National Bank of Serbia and the European Central Bank.

Taking into account the size of each individual loan and deposit, the average weighted interest rate on newly approved dinar-denominated corporate loans increased to 6.8%, driven by the rise in interest rates on investment loans. Conversely, interest rates on liquidity and working capital loans, together with rates on other uncategorized loans, remained unchanged compared with the levels recorded at the end of 2025. The average interest rate in the first quarter of 2026 ranged from 6.4% for large enterprises, through 6.5% for medium-sized enterprises and 6.7% for small enterprises, to 8.5% for micro-enterprises.

An increase in the average weighted interest rate was also observed for newly approved euro-denominated and euro-indexed corporate loans, with the rate reaching 4.9% during the first quarter. Categorized by company size, the interest rate amounted to 4.6% for large enterprises, 4.8% for medium-sized enterprises, 5.1% for small enterprises, and 6.2% for micro-enterprises.

The results of the National Bank of Serbia’s April survey indicate that banks tightened standards applied to long-term corporate loans in their lending activities, while standards for short-term loans remained unchanged. The tightening of standards for long-term loans was influenced by:

• Higher funding costs for loans;
• Less favorable assessments of the overall economic situation;
• Competitive pressures acting in the opposite direction.

Banks assessed that, due to reduced financing needs for investments during the first quarter of 2026, demand from businesses for dinar-denominated loans and short-term foreign currency-indexed loans declined, while demand for long-term foreign currency-indexed loans increased.

Household Loans

The year-on-year growth in household lending, which reached 20.9% after excluding the effects of exchange rate fluctuations, compared with 19.5% in December 2025, contributed to an increase in the share of household loans in GDP to 19.1% during the first quarter of 2026. In nominal terms, the stock of household loans amounted to RSD 2,006.9 billion in March, accounting for 49.8% of total bank claims on the non-monetary sector.

As a result of growth in cash loans and housing loans, household lending increased by RSD 72.3 billion during the first quarter. During the same period, borrowing through current account overdrafts and consumer loans also increased, while a decline was recorded only in credit card debt. The growth of housing loans was particularly supported by the approval of loans under the youth housing program, resulting in housing loans accounting for 38.1% of total household lending. The high volume of cash loan disbursements, supported by more relaxed lending standards, contributed to the share of this loan category reaching 47.7% of total household loans in March.

Household lending continued to be supported during the first quarter of 2026 by numerous borrower relief measures, the most important of which were:

1. Interest rate caps throughout 2026 on housing loans with variable interest rates whenever such rates exceed the average weighted interest rate applicable to existing housing loan contracts;
2. Interest rate caps on cash and consumer loans introduced through the new Law on the Protection of Financial Services Consumers;
3. The offering of loans with lower interest rates for lower-income households;
4. Permanent availability of loans for the purchase of a first residential property covering up to 90% of the appraised value of the property securing the loan;
5. Implementation of the government youth housing loan program;
6. Approval of consumer loans in dinars when the loan amount is small (up to RSD 150,000.00).

Growth in the volume of newly approved household loans, driven by the increased amount of approved cash and housing loans, reached as much as RSD 285.3 billion during the first quarter, making it 31.9% higher than in the same period of 2025. Newly approved cash loans accounted for as much as 69% of all new household loans, while newly approved housing loans represented 19% of these loans.

Dinar-denominated loans accounted for two-thirds of the increase in household lending during the first quarter, directly contributing to the dinarization of household lending and its rise to 56.5% in March. In contrast, the share of euro-denominated loans declined to 43.5%. Housing loans were characterized by a growing share of loans with fixed interest rates, encouraged by the implementation of interest rate caps, resulting in the share of fixed-rate loans increasing to 46%. The structure of dinar-denominated household loans was characterized by the fact that 95% of loans were approved with fixed interest rates, while among loans granted at variable interest rates, those linked to the three-month BELIBOR were the most prevalent.

The share of non-performing loans in total household lending during the first quarter of 2026 remained unchanged compared with the record-low level recorded in December 2025.

The easing of monetary policy by the National Bank of Serbia and the European Central Bank further contributed to household borrowing conditions, allowing favorable lending conditions to continue throughout the first quarter of 2026. The application of interest rate caps on loans to individuals continued in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Financial Services Consumers, thereby systematically regulating maximum interest rates on household borrowing. These legal caps directly contributed to a reduction in the cost of the most expensive forms of borrowing, with interest rates on credit card debt declining from 22.3% in December 2024 to 14.7% in March 2026, while overdraft rates stood at 17.1% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with 27.9% in December 2025.

The average weighted interest rate on newly approved dinar-denominated household loans remained unchanged compared with the previous quarter, while the average weighted interest rate on newly approved indexed household loans increased slightly relative to the final quarter of 2025.

The results of the National Bank of Serbia’s April survey clearly indicate that banks continued to ease standards applied to household loans during the first quarter, while households increased their demand for loans over the same period. The strongest demand was recorded for dinar-denominated cash loans, refinancing loans, consumer loans, and foreign currency-indexed housing loans.