Household savings in Serbia expanded steadily throughout 2025, with both dinar-denominated and foreign-currency deposits recording solid growth, reinforcing the picture of a banking system that retained depositor confidence amid tightening financial conditions across Europe. Data released by the National Bank of Serbia show that the second half of the year extended trends already visible in the first six months, while also highlighting a gradual but structurally important shift toward savings in the domestic currency.
In the period from July to December 2025, dinar household savings increased by 10.4 billion dinars, representing a 5.3% rise over six months. By the end of December, total dinar savings held by households reached 206.2 billion dinars, the highest level recorded to date. On a full-year basis, dinar deposits rose by 15 billion dinars, translating into annual growth of 7.8%, significantly outpacing inflation and confirming the sustained attractiveness of dinar instruments relative to euro-denominated alternatives.
Foreign-currency savings also continued to grow, albeit at a more moderate pace. During the second half of the year, household foreign-currency deposits increased by 459.5 million euros, or 2.9%, reaching 16.2 billion euros by year-end. Over the full twelve-month period, foreign-currency savings expanded by 772.5 million euros, corresponding to annual growth of approximately 5%. This slower pace relative to dinar savings reflects both lower interest rate incentives on euro deposits and a stable exchange-rate environment that reduced the precautionary demand for foreign currency.
A key structural indicator highlighted by the central bank is the growing share of dinar savings within total household deposits. By the end of 2025, dinar savings accounted for close to 10% of total household deposits in the banking system, a level that would have been considered unattainable a decade earlier. While foreign-currency savings still dominate the deposit base, the steady increase in the dinar share confirms a long-term trend toward partial re-dinarisation of household balance sheets.
Several factors underpinned this shift during 2025. The relative stability of the dinar against the euro reduced perceived currency risk, while dinar savings continued to offer materially higher interest rates than comparable euro-denominated deposits. At the same time, the credibility of monetary policy and the predictability of the macroeconomic framework played a central role in shaping depositor behavior. Rather than substituting foreign-currency savings with dinar deposits, households increasingly opted for a diversified approach, expanding overall savings while incrementally increasing exposure to the domestic currency.
From a banking-sector perspective, the parallel growth of dinar and foreign-currency deposits strengthened funding stability throughout the year. Rising household deposits provided banks with a stable and relatively low-cost source of funding, supporting lending activity without increasing reliance on external borrowing. The expansion of dinar deposits, in particular, improved currency matching on bank balance sheets and reduced systemic exposure to exchange-rate movements, a long-standing structural vulnerability in the Serbian financial system.
The data also carry broader macroeconomic implications. The continued accumulation of household savings suggests that disposable income growth was not fully absorbed by consumption during 2025, reflecting a more cautious spending posture amid global uncertainty and elevated interest rates across Europe. This behavior helped contain external imbalances while reinforcing domestic financial stability, even as economic growth moderated compared with post-pandemic rebound years.
Looking ahead, the trajectory of household savings will remain closely linked to interest rate dynamics, exchange-rate stability, and income growth. While foreign-currency deposits are expected to remain dominant in absolute terms, the persistence of dinar savings growth through multiple economic cycles increasingly positions domestic-currency deposits as a structural component of Serbia’s financial landscape rather than a temporary response to short-term incentives.
