Tabakovic: NBS will not be resolving loans issue on its own

BELGRADE - Serbia has a problem with a high share of non-performing loans - 22.5 percent of the entire loan portfolio, Governor of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Jorgovanka Tabakovic has said, pointing out that the NBS cannot be solving this problem alone, and needs support from the ministries and international financial institutions.

Tabakovic told Belgrade-based TV Pink on Saturday that 2015 would be marked by efforts to resolve the issue of high share of non-performing loans in Serbia.

Currently, the share of these loans is 22.5 percent, and before the crisis, in 2008, it was 10 percent, she said.

"So it was high even before the crisis," said Tabakovic.

Numerous structural problems, and problems facing banks, which "are either good or bad in assessing risks when approving loans," including security for a loan pledged by a citizen or a business entity when taking loans, all contributed to the problem, she said.

The NBS is keeping the dinar exchange rate stable, she said, pointing out that strengthening the stability of the financial system and dealing with the problem of non-performing loans were set out as key objectives in a three-year arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Of the 29 banks in the country, six are state-owned and here the share of non-performing loans is 23.3 percent, while the share is 21.2 percent with the banks owned by foreign entities, said the NBS governor.

According to Tabakovic, the sectors where the issue is most acute are construction, trade, real estate, and part of the processing industry.

Of the total share of non-performing loans, amounting to RSD 484 billion (EUR 3.6 billion), only 11 percent (RSD 51 billion) have been removed from the...