About the NBS

Core functions of the National Bank of Serbia are laid down in the Constitution of Serbia and the Law on the National Bank of Serbia ("RS Official Gazette", No. 72/2003).

Pursuant to Article 2 of the Law on the National Bank of Serbia, the National Bank of Serbia is the central bank of the Republic of Serbia and as such its main responsibilities are the protection of price stability and maintenance of financial stability.

Core functions of the National Bank of Serbia include determining and implementation of the monetary policy, as well as that of the dinar exchange rate policy, management of the foreign currency reserves, issue of banknotes and coins, and maintenance of efficient payment and financial systems.

Subject to the Law on the Supplement to the Law on the National Bank of Serbia ("RS Official Gazette", No. 55/2004), the scope of competence of the National Bank of Serbia has been expanded so as to include insurance supervision (issuing of insurance, reinsurance, brokerage licenses).

The Law on the National Bank of Serbia further stipulates that in carrying out its responsibilities the National Bank of Serbia acts an autonomous and independent institution. It is not obliged neither to request nor to take instructions from the government institutions or other bodies. That is to say, on the basis of the determined economic policy targets and key macroeconomic indicators adopted by the Parliament, the National Bank then independently sets forth its projections of monetary and credit aggregates growth relative to the set targets and develops the monetary and credit policy measures that are to be implemented. The National Bank Governor attends the Government sessions on occasions when the proposed agenda includes issues related to the work of National Bank of Serbia. Also, the National Bank of Serbia passes an opinion on the certain enactments related to the budgetary, economic and fiscal policy issues, as well as on the draft laws and other legal regulations within its scope of authority. The National Bank of Serbia determines the dinar exchange rate regime, given the Government approval, whereas in administering the determined dinar exchange rate policy it assumes independent authority.

The National Bank of Serbia also prepares and submits to the Serbian Parliament the annual report on its operations and business results, as well as a report on monetary policy, annual report on the state of affairs in the banking sector and overall financial sector in the country with the accompanying monetary policy programme for the following year.

The real estate and other facilities used by the National Bank of Serbia are the property of the Republic of Serbia. In the same line, it is the Republic of Serbia that provides guarantees for all of the National Bank of Serbia’s liabilities.

The fundamental issues pertaining to the organization of NBS operations are provided for by the NBS By-Law, the adoption of which is confirmed by the Serbian Parliament.

The National Bank of Serbia managing powers include: the Monetary Board, Governor and the Council. The Monetary Board, a body responsible for the monetary policy, comprises the NBS Governor and Vice governors. The Governor is appointed by the Parliament for the period of five years. Some of the Governor’s responsibilities include: implementation of decisions reached by the Monetary Board and the Council, internal organization and efficient functioning of the Bank, as well as preparation and passing of enactments that fall within the scope of authority of a central bank. A Council Chairman heads the Council, and four members appointed by the Parliament for the period of five years. Among other duties, the Council, on Governor’s proposal, adopts the Financial Plan and Annual Statement of the National Bank of Serbia.

The National Bank of Serbia has three to five Vice-Governors appointed by the Council on Governor’s proposal for the period of five years.

The National Bank of Serbia is a legal entity with its headquarters located in Belgrade. The National Bank of Serbia may establish branches, even though the branches do not enjoy the status of legal entities and their internal organization and the scope of authority and operations are set forth in the NBS By-Law.

The National Bank of Serbia has one specialized organizational unit, namely the Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes and Coins – Topcider, the duties and responsibilities of which are stipulated by the Law on the National Bank of Serbian and the NBS By-Law.

The most significant responsibilities entrusted to the National Bank of Serbia include:
Determination of the monetary policy, regulation of the money in circulation, operations performed in the name and for the account of the Republic of Serbia (pertains to short-term government lending for bridging liquidity gap between the inflow of revenues and financing the budgetary expenditures), regulation of the level and manner of maintaining minimal liquidity of banks, determining of the dinar exchange rate policy, as well as setting the level of standing and current required reserves for external payments liquidity, domestic and external payment operations and issue of banknotes and coins.

Supervisory function aimed at monitoring the solvency and legal grounding of operations performed by commercial banks and other financial institutions. The National Bank of Serbia may issue an order to a bank that acting in breach of monetary policy measures, to remove the discovered irregularities, while simultaneously taking legal measure(s) against it, depending on the severity of the issue. The National Bank also provides for the minimal scope of auditing for banks and other financial institutions. In cases when the submitted audit reports fail to meet the specified auditing standards, the NBS may demand from a bank or other financial institution to submit, within the prescribed deadline, a new report prepared by another independent auditor.

Within its scope of authority, the National Bank of Serbia performs its duties through its organizational units:

• Monetary System and Policy Department;
• Foreign Exchange Department;
• International Relations Department;
• Bank Supervision Department; 
• Insurance Supervision Department;
• Pension Fund Supervision Department;
• Payment System Department;
• National Payment Cards Centre;
• Center for Financial Services Consumer Protection and Market Supervision;
• Legal Department;
• Internal Audit Department;
• Research Department;
• Treasury Department;
• Finance and Accounting Department;
• Informational Technologies Department;
• Human Resources;
• General Affairs Department;
• Office Administration Department;
• Public Registers and Enforced Collections Department;
• NBS – Belgrade Branch;
• NBS – Novi Sad Branch;
• NBS – Nis Branch;
• NBS – Kragujevac Branch;
• NBS – Uzice Branch;
• NBS – Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes and Coins, Topcider.