According to the “Serbian Economist,” as of September 1, 2026, Serbia’s long-term government bonds denominated in dinars have become available to international investors through the Euroclear Bank system, which is expected to simplify global funds’ access to the Serbian debt securities market and increase its liquidity.
The Serbian Ministry of Finance announced this on August 31. At the same time, the National Bank of Serbia announced that Euroclear Bank has become a participant in its RTGS payment system and in the securities settlement system of the Central Registry, Depository, and Clearing House of Serbia.
In the first phase, transactions involving five long-term issues of Serbian government bonds denominated in dinars, which are already in circulation, can be conducted through Euroclear. In the future, the system will also be available for certain new issues of government securities.
International investors can now hold and settle Serbian dinar-denominated bonds through their existing Euroclear accounts, without having to set up a separate infrastructure directly in the Serbian market.
For large investment funds, this significantly reduces operational barriers. Banks, pension and investment funds, insurance companies, and asset management firms that already operate through Euroclear will find it easier to include Serbian dinar-denominated securities in their portfolios.
Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali called the connection to Euroclear an important step toward transitioning from a domestic to an internationally integrated government securities market.
The project to integrate the Serbian market with the international settlement infrastructure has been underway since 2019, with the participation of the Ministry of Finance, the National Bank of Serbia, the Central Securities Register, and international partners.
The country’s credit rating has served as an additional factor in attracting international capital. Back in October 2024, S&P Global Ratings upgraded Serbia’s sovereign rating to investment grade BBB- with a stable outlook for the first time. In July 2026, Fitch maintained Serbia’s rating at BB+ with a positive outlook.
The issuance of dinar-denominated infrastructure bonds through Euroclear also has longer-term significance for Serbia. Expanding the pool of foreign buyers could increase trading volume in the secondary market and help establish a more liquid yield curve in dinars.
Euroclear Bank is one of the largest international clearing and depository institutions, enabling institutional investors to hold and settle securities from various countries through a single infrastructure.
In July 2024, the international depository Euroclear will make the first contribution of approximately EUR1.55 billion to the European fund for Ukraine, according to the company’s report.
In the first half of 2024, Euroclear received EUR3.4 billion in interest income from investing blocked Russian assets.
In 2023, these revenues amounted to about EUR4.4 billion, in 2022 – EUR821 million.
Euroclear’s total interest income in January-June this year amounted to EUR4 billion.
The company will also pay taxes on income received from Russian assets in January-June in the amount of EUR836 million.
Thus, Euroclear’s net profit attributable to the frozen assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation amounted to EUR760 million in the first half of the year.
Euroclear’s balance sheet as of the end of June 2024 amounted to EUR207 billion, of which EUR173 billion are attributable to Russian assets under sanctions.
Effective February 15, 2024, the EU Council adopted a Regulation requiring central securities depositories that hold reserves and assets of the Bank of Russia to apply special rules to cash balances accumulated due to restrictive measures. These CSDs, including Euroclear, must account for and manage such extraordinary cash balances separately from other activities, must retain net income separately, and must not dispose of the net income (e.g., as dividends to shareholders).
Euroclear’s underlying net profit, which excludes income from the blocked Russian assets, increased by 7% year-on-year in January-June to EUR602 million.
Underlying operating income increased by 5% to EUR1.45 billion.
In particular, revenues from core activities amounted to EUR865 million compared to EUR838 million a year earlier, while interest, banking and other income increased to EUR586 million from EUR539 million.
