Dinarisation

Dinarisation is a set of measures and activities aiming to enhance the use of the dinar in Serbia’s financial system. Greater use of the dinar results in a more powerful monetary policy transmission mechanism, allowing for more efficient achievement and maintenance of price stability as the NBS’s principal statutory objective. For this reason, since 2011 dinarisation has been highlighted as one of the NBS’s objectives in the Monetary Policy Programme of the National Bank of Serbia.

In 2012, the NBS and the Government of the Republic of Serbia signed the Memorandum on the Strategy of Dinarisation of the Serbian Financial System and affirmed it in 2018. This Memorandum paved the main course of activity of the two institutions in order to boost the use of the dinar in Serbia and it rests on three inter-connected pillars:

  1. Strengthening of the macroeconomic environment characterised by low and stable inflation, stable financial system and sustainable economic growth;
  2. Promotion of dinar instruments and markets, with special emphasis on the development of the dinar securities market. The development of the dinar yield curve is an important cornerstone of this pillar;
  3. Development and improvement of FX hedging instruments in the non-banking sector.

Under the Strategy, the NBS and the Government of the Republic of Serbia have committed to monitoring and analysing the degree of dinarisation and to regularly informing the public about the measures and activities which are being taken, as well as about progress achieved in the process of dinarisation. For that purpose, the NBS publishes the quarterly Report on Dinarisation of the Serbian Financial System, as a supporting communication tool. The Report provides information about results, measures and activities aimed at supporting the process of dinarisation.

The dinarisation of the Serbian financial system has been posting a long-term growth trend. Based on movement in key indicators since 2012 when the Memorandum was concluded until present day, significant progress has been achieved.

Dinarisation indicators December 2012 March 2023 Change in pp
Deposits Corporate 43.9% 59.6% +15.7
Household 8.8% 29.4% +20.6
Total 19.3% 41.9% +22.6
Receivables Corporate 24.2% 16.3% -7.9
Household 35.1% 53.6% +18.5
Total 28.0% 33.8% +5.8