Starting today, banks in Serbia are required to lower interest rates on consumer, cash and housing loans for employees and pensioners with monthly incomes below 100,000 dinars, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) announced. These loans under favorable terms must be clearly highlighted as special offers on the banks’ websites.
The reduced rates apply to dinar-denominated consumer and cash loans up to one million dinars, refinancing loans within the same bank with no amount limit, special cash loans up to one million dinars for pensioners with life insurance included, and housing loans for first-time homebuyers.
According to the rules, nominal interest rates on cash and consumer loans, as well as refinancing loans, will be reduced by three percentage points compared to July, but cannot fall below 7.5 percent.
For special cash loans and refinancing with life insurance for pensioners, the minimum interest rate is set at 10.5 percent. Housing loan rates will be reduced by up to 0.5 percentage points compared to the average rate each bank offered in July.
Banks are not allowed to charge fees for processing loan applications, and these loans must remain available under these conditions for at least one year, the NBS stated.
