ZSP Advokati Partner Jelisaveta Stanisic and Senior Associate Tijana Trivunovic discuss Banking and Finance in Serbia in the year past and the one ahead.
CEELM: Over the past year, which areas of banking and finance work have been generating the most activity for lawyers in Serbia?
Stanisic: Real estate financing remains a steady source of work and has been the bread and butter for many firms in this space. Beyond that, two areas stand out. First, the government-sponsored bond issuance programme has generated significant deal flow and market attention. Second, renewables projects continue to attract interest, though activity on the ground has been somewhat slower than expected, largely due to regulatory hurdles that are still being worked through.
CEELM: Are you seeing any shifts in the balance between traditional bank lending and non-bank or alternative financing, and how is that affecting the market?
Trivunovic: Banks remain the dominant source of funding – they hold the most liquidity, and that is unlikely to change in the near term. That said, market participants are increasingly exploring alternatives, corporate bonds in particular. The interest is real, though it is worth noting that banks themselves are among the strongest sources of liquidity in the bond market as well. So while the direction of travel is clear, alternative financing is supplementing rather than displacing traditional bank lending at this stage.
CEELM: Have any recent regulatory or supervisory developments started to affect banks or financial institutions in practice, and how are they adapting?
Stanisic: Two developments are worth highlighting. First, we are seeing ESG-related requirements – green KPIs and sustainability-linked criteria – becoming standard features in an increasing number of financings. From the lender side, this is largely operational and manageable. The adjustment is more significant on the borrower side, where companies are still getting accustomed to these requirements as a routine part of the financing process.
Second, capital requirements regulation remains an ongoing topic. While these rules are driving meaningful changes in larger markets, the practical impact locally has been more limited so far – in part because the Serbian borrowing market does not yet have the concentration of large, systemically complex institutions that would put these requirements under real pressure.
CEELM: Looking ahead, where do you expect activity to pick up in the market, whether in new lending, refinancings, or alternative financing? Why?
Trivunovic: Across the board. New lending and refinancing activity has been running at a sustained pace, with borrowers looking to lock in improved terms relative to where the market was a few years ago. That momentum should continue.
Stanisic: The area to watch is corporate bonds and other alternative financing instruments. A growing number of market participants are exploring these as a complement to conventional bank facilities. As the regulatory framework matures and market familiarity deepens, we expect this segment to gain real traction.
This article was originally published in Issue 13.1 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
