CBCG Meets the Management of Commercial Banks: Positive Trends in the Sector, a Stable SEPA System and Clear Priorities for the Coming Period
26/11/2025
The CBCG Governor Irena Radović and her team met today with the management of commercial banks to discuss current trends in the banking sector, results after joining the SEPA payment system and key priorities for the next period. Along with the Governor, the CBCG Vice-Governors, Zorica Kalezić, Gordana Kalezić, and Milan Remiković attended the meeting.
At the meeting, they assessed that the domestic banking system is stable, liquid and adequately capitalised, with the continued growth of key balance positions.
They stated a strong growth in the number of payment transactions in the first month of SEPA application, particularly in the smaller amounts of up to 200 euros, with an increase in electronically initiated orders and a clear preference of users towards faster and cheaper digital channels, twice cheaper than transactions initiated at bank counters. Several banks already handle over 80 percent of orders through SEPA, while the market as a whole has shown a visible shift towards the substitution of traditional, more expensive SWIFT transfers. Such trends clearly confirm that citizens and the economy carefully monitor the price and quality of services and readily choose more modern, faster and more cost-effective solutions.
At the meeting, they also discussed the recently adopted amendments to the CBCG tariffs, which cut the fees for processing transactions in the national payment system in half: the RTGS fee from 1.50 to 0.75 euros, and the DNS fee from 0.10 to 0.05 euros. In accordance with the principles of the EU cost coverage model, and the preparations for the introduction of the TIPS Clone system and the strengthening of competitiveness in relation to European central banks, the CBCG has assumed the largest part of the financial burden of the reform, with an expected cumulative drop in income of 12.37 million euros in the period 2026 - 2030. Considering the aforesaid, banks are obliged to pass on the effect of lower costs as a whole to citizens and the economy through the harmonisation of their tariff lists no later than 1 December 2025. Through regular supervision, the CBCG will monitor the full implementation of these obligations in the interest of transparent and efficient payment transactions for all users.
In the continuation of the meeting, they discussed key regulatory activities carried out during this year. It was pointed out that the CBCG invests strong and continuous efforts to fully harmonise the domestic regulatory framework with modern European supervision standards. It was particularly highlighted that the CBCG prepared the Draft Law Amending the Law on Credit Institutions in 2025, fully aligned with the CRD VI directive, the application of which will be mandatory in EU member states from 11 January 2026.
“With this proactive approach, i.e. establishing a regulatory framework in line with the EU requirements that will just begin to be applied, the CBCG demonstrates high institutional maturity and a clear strategic commitment ,” Governor Radović noted, adding that such a position further strengthens the security and stability of the financial system.
The CBCG team announced that intensive regulatory and supervisory activities will continue in 2026, with a focus on further strengthening risk management, resilience of the banking sector and alignment with the best practices of the European supervisory model. Special attention will be devoted to implementing ESG principles, through the improvement of internal capacities and policies, aiming to ensure the consistent application of European guidelines and the transition to sustainable risk management models. Activities have also been initiated to comply with the DORA regulation (Digital Operational Resilience Act), a European standard that ensures the resilience of financial institutions to cyber risks and technological incidents.
The importance of improving the financial system’s integrity, achieved in the last period was also noted, with strong progress in the area of prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, both in terms of regulatory harmonisation and the supervisory practice of the CBCG, which was additionally improved through the intensive cooperation of the CBCG with the central banks of the Eurosystem. The progress made by CBCG activities in the area of consumer protection was also emphasised, with the adoption of 10 by-laws of the Law on Consumer Credits, aimed to further strengthen the position of consumers, and numerous measures taken to strengthen consumer inclusion.
The CBCG and commercial banks share a common responsibility for building a strong, modern and resilient financial system. As before, banks expressed their willingness to support all initiatives aimed at strengthening the soundness and stability of the banking sector and preserving financial stability. Further modernisation of the payment infrastructure, improvement of the quality of services, better protection of users and consistent implementation of the highest European standards remain key priorities in the coming period.