Early Warning System

Countries

Serbia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Nov 19, 2025

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

UNICREDIT BANK SERBIA JSC

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Finance

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 11.81 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 1,200,000,000.00
Converted using 2025-11-19 exchange rate.

Project Cost (USD)

$ 59.05 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 6,000,000,000.00
Converted using 2025-11-19 exchange rate.

Bank Documents

PSD Translation (Serbian)

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Dec 18, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Dec 15, 2025

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
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Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project consists of an investment of up to RSD 1.2 billion (equivalent to EUR10 million) in Minimum Requirement for Own Funds and Eligible Liabilities (MREL)-eligible local currency bonds issued by UniCredit Bank Serbia (UCB) to be listed on the Belgrade Stock Exchange (BSE). The bonds will be contractually eligible against UCB's MREL for bail-in-able funding and have a maturity of 4 years with a non-callable period of 3 years.

The project supports resilience of a local bank by helping UCB build diversified funding base for the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities and reinforces local capital market development and dinarisation in Serbia by Bank's participation in bonds issued by UCB in local currency. The project contributes to the expansion of lending to private businesses through working capital lines and investment loans to SMEs, including enterprises operating in economically less developed regions of the country. Furthermore, the transaction supports UCB's growth strategy and provides a source of medium term local currency funding. The bank will aim to allocate up to 30% the EBRD investment amount to Green Economy Transition (GET) eligible projects.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

Categorised FI (ESP 2024). UniCredit Bank Serbia (UCB), an existing client, has demonstrated satisfactory environmental and social (E&S) performance under its current exposure. The proceeds will be used for the purpose of making sub-loans to micro-, small and medium sized enterprises ("MSMEs") in Serbia in accordance with the FIF Policy Statement. The subprojects are expected to carry low-to-medium E&S risk, primarily associated with the client's capacity to implement its Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS), potential impacts arising from the financed sub loans, and related supply chain risks.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

An investment of up to RSD 1.2 billion (equivalent to EUR10 million) in Minimum Requirement for Own Funds and Eligible Liabilities (MREL)-eligible local currency bonds issued by the client, to be listed on the Belgrade Stock Exchange (BSE). The bonds will have a maturity of 4 years with a non-callable period of 3 years.

Financial Intermediary

A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.

UNICREDIT BANK SERBIA JSC (Financial Intermediary)

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

UNICREDIT BANK SERBIA JSC - UCB is the fourth largest bank in Serbia (measured by total assets as per 1H 2025) with 11.1% market share and a strong foothold in the corporate sector and an increasing focus on the retail sector. UCB is 100% owned by UniCredit Spa, Italy.

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Jovana Boskovic
jovana.boskovic@unicreditgroup.rs
+381668057660
www.unicreditbank.rs
Jurija Gagarina 12, Belgrade, Serbia

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html