BELGRADE (Serbia), September 5 (SeeNews) – Credit growth in Serbia accelerated to 13.1% year-on-year in the second quarter from 6.3% a year earlier, Serbia’s central bank said.

Business loans rose 15.8% on the year in April-June, while retail loans fell 9.8%, the central bank SNB said in a statement on Friday.

Business loans increased in the second quarter by 48.3 billion dinars (408.2 million dollars / 411.6 million euros), up 141% year on year, while loans to individuals increased of 38.4 billion dinars, down 14.3% compared to the previous year.

Home loans continued their double-digit year-on-year growth in 2022, which in June stood at 14.3%.

According to the SNB, interest rates on loans increased during the second quarter and averaged 3.8% for corporate loans and 9.1% for personal loans (compared to 3. 2% and 8.7%, respectively, in the same period of 2021).

At the same time, average interest rates on euro-denominated loans increased by 0.1 pp to 2.6% for businesses in the second quarter and by 0.5 pp to 3.6% for loans to individuals, compared to June 2021.

The ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) to total loans was 3.26% at the end of June, down 0.34pp year-on-year. The NPL ratio for corporate loans decreased by 0.7pp to 2.2%, while for retail loans it increased by 0.2pp to 4.2%, compared to June 2021.

(1 euro = 117.346 dinars)