Banks continued to tighten loan terms

Banks operating in Serbia in Q3 continued to slightly tighten the standards by which they approved loans to companies and the general population, according to the October survey of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) on the credit activity of banks in this period.

The tightening of the standards for company loan approval was mostly related to foreign exchange-indexed loans, and was mostly present with large companies.

Banks expect further tightening of standards for foreign currency loans during Q4, while relaxation is expected for dinar loans.

During Q3, the company sector reduced its demand for loans, with the exception of short-term loans in dinars, for which demand increased due to the need to finance working capital.

Banks expect that the company demand for loans will recover in the upcoming period.


Further decline in demand for housing loans

Banks and the NBS survey assessed that the population's demand for loans decreased during this period, due to lower interest in almost all types of loans.

Banks expect the population to increase demand for dinar loans in Q4, whereas they expect a drop in demand for housing loans.

Narodna banka Srbije Beograd

National Bank of Serbia

NBS

credit activity of banks

housing loans

dinar loans

loans to companies

loans to households