Serbia’s May 2026 monetary indicators show rising liquidity and credit activity, alongside a persistently large foreign-currency component.
At the end of May 2026, the broadest monetary aggregate, M3, reached RSD 5,601.4 billion—about 9.8% more than a year earlier. Deposits and loans to the non-financial sector also increased, with lending growing faster than the deposit base.
M1, which comprises currency in circulation and transferable deposits, amounted to RSD 2,090.7 billion. This was approximately 8.7% higher than in May 2025. M2 reached RSD 2,817.7 billion, around 10.0% higher, while M3 rose to RSD 5,601.4 billion, an increase of about 9.8%. All three aggregates also increased compared with April 2026, indicating continued nominal monetary expansion at the monthly level. The aggregates alone, however, do not reveal where liquidity will be directed or how much of the increase remains after accounting for inflation.
Currency in circulation stood at RSD 412.6 billion, around 5.6% higher than a year earlier. Transferable deposits increased by approximately 9.5% to RSD 1,678.1 billion. Their faster growth relative to cash indicates an increase in transaction balances held inside the banking system. This can facilitate payments and economic activity, but it should not automatically be equated with higher production or consumption.
Deposits of the non-financial sector with commercial banks reached RSD 5,127.0 billion at the end of May, 10.1% more than in May 2025. Dinar deposits increased by 10.9% to RSD 2,343.7 billion, while foreign-currency deposits rose by 9.5% to RSD 2,783.3 billion. The foreign-currency component still represented about 54.3% of total deposits. The figures suggest confidence in bank-based saving and liquidity, while also showing that currency composition remains an important feature of household and corporate financial behaviour.
Loans to the non-financial sector reached RSD 4,250.6 billion, approximately 17.0% higher than a year earlier. Dinar loans grew by about 24.6% to RSD 1,724.9 billion, while foreign-currency and foreign-currency-indexed loans increased by roughly 12.4% to RSD 2,525.7 billion. Although the foreign-currency component still accounted for the majority—about 59.4% of total loans—the faster rise in dinar lending points to a gradual strengthening of the domestic-currency segment. The National Bank of Serbia’s methodological note is important here: instruments indexed to foreign currency are classified within foreign-currency categories.
The National Bank of Serbia’s foreign-exchange reserves stood at EUR 29.88 billion, about 9.1% higher than in May 2025, while commercial banks’ foreign-exchange reserves amounted to EUR 3.19 billion. A high level of reserves is an important buffer for external liquidity and foreign-exchange-market stability. Taken together, the May data depict a system with a growing money supply, deposit base and loan portfolio. Stronger lending is a positive signal, but its economic effects depend on how loans are used, the quality of bank assets and the relationship between nominal growth and inflation. Monetary indicators should therefore be interpreted together with trends in prices, investment, consumption and real economic activity rather than in isolation.
