More and more citizens of Serbia are taking out cash loans, which have increased by a quarter in a year and are the main driver of the increase in indebtedness of the population. That trend is indicative of widespread misery
Although experts say that the citizens of Serbia are not yet over-indebted, the fact that the debt is growing almost twice as fast as wages indicates that an increasing part of consumption is financed with borrowed money, writes "Danas".
Serbian citizens are getting more and more into debt based on cash, that is cash loan. According to the latest data from the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) for May 2026, the total balance of cash loans reached about 991,5 billion dinars, which is almost a quarter, or 23,7 percent more than a year earlier.
In just one month, the total citizens' debt on this basis, it was increased by more than 16 billion dinars. At the same time, banks approved new 67,3 billion dinars in cash loans in May alone. Although it is slightly less than in April, it is still a very high level of borrowing.
The most important thing is that for a long time, cash loans have been the main driver of the growth of the population's total indebtedness. Today, almost every second dinar that citizens owe to banks refers to cash loans, while almost two-thirds of all new loans granted by banks to citizens are non-purpose cash loans.
The trend has been particularly pronounced in the last two years. The data show that from May 2024 to May 2026, the balance of cash loans increased from 688,5 to 991,5 billion dinars, that is, by as much as 303 billion, which represents an increase of about 44 percent.
This means that, year after year, citizens increasingly resort to cash loans, which are mainly used for consumption, refinancing old debts or covering current expenses, and not for buying real estate or other investments.
However, according to experts, this is not such a cause for concern for now, because households in Serbia have not yet entered the zone of systemic over-indebtedness. The banking sector is still stable, and the number of problem loans remains low.
What is worrying is that cash loans are growing almost twice as fast as wages.
While the average net salary in April this year was higher by 11,5 percent than a year earlier, the total balance of cash loans in April increased by 22,9 percent.
Simply put, citizens' debt is growing almost twice as fast as their income. This does not mean that citizens are over-indebted, but it is a warning that an increasing part of consumption is financed with borrowed money.
If this trend continues, more and more citizens could have a problem with paying off their installments. This is precisely why experts warn that the biggest risk at the moment is not the total level of indebtedness of citizens, but the fact that growth relies more and more on non-purposed, unsecured cash loans, which, as a rule, are riskier than housing loans.
Therefore, Serbia has not yet entered the phase of over-indebtedness of the population, but the data show that it is moving in a direction that requires much greater caution than in previous years.
That's exactly what he pointed out. The IMF in its report, in which he states that Serbia currently does not have a problem with banks or with the over-indebtedness of citizens, but warns that loans to the population are growing very quickly, and that the state is additionally encouraging this through the program of guaranteed housing loans for young people, which is why they believe that this program should not be further expanded.
Another interesting data published by the Republic Geodetic Institute (RGZ) for the first quarter of this year shows that only 32,7 percent of the total purchased apartments are financed with housing loans, which means that even 67,3 percent of apartments are bought without credit, i.e. for cash.
Retired Professor of the Faculty of Economics in Kragujevac Veroljub Dugalić told "Danas" that the fact that cash loans are growing is forced.
"Cash loans are used to pay for summer and winter holidays, so when the school year starts, school supplies are bought with those loans... because there are no restrictions on the use of those funds. It is forced and very dangerous," warns Dugalić.
When you take a home loan, he explains, it is known exactly what you took it for - you will not be paying rent, but solving a life problem.
"However, many things are paid with cash loans and it is spent lightly, and when you borrow lightly, it is difficult to pay back those debts. This is a great danger for banks as well, but, above all, for citizens," the interlocutor notes.
Dugalić says that this growth of cash loans, which are taken for some basic life needs, is a reflection of our standard of living.
"You take a cash loan to go to the sea or to buy something for the house, so people solve some basic issues with cash loans. It is only an indicator of the general standard in which most citizens live, more precisely, it shows the misery in which most citizens of Serbia live," he points out.
If this trend of cash loan growth continues, Dugalić believes that something will have to change.
"However, there are not many options. Perhaps the NBS can introduce some temporary restrictions, but the permanent solution is only an increase in standards. For us, the problem is not the war, but the salary. Our problem is the general standard, because when you do not have enough money, you are forced to take cash loans. People often have no other way to solve some issues," he states.
It is devastating, he believes, that we can expect the continuation of that trend.
"In the foreseeable future, it is difficult to expect any increase in standards, so the growth of cash loans can also be expected. Banks can limit this, but their interest is to give loans, they are not philanthropic institutions, their job is to get you into debt," concludes Dugalić.
Source: Today
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