Gecić Law is thrilled to announce that our esteemed partner, Miodrag Jevtić, has achieved remarkable recognition in the 2025 Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) rankings. The renowned directory recognized Miodrag in its 2025 Banking edition. This achievement highlights Miodrag’s deep commitment to legal excellence and significant contributions to our firm’s success. A Testament to Legal Expertise The Lexology Index, renowned for its rigorous evaluation of legal professionals worldwide, has acknowledged Miodrag’s exceptional expertise and client-focused approach. His nearly two decades of experience in legal services have been instrumental in advising prominent entities across various industries. This includes retail, food, […]
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Gecić Law, in collaboration with Clifford Chance, is honored to announce its role as local lead legal advisor to Telekom Srbija in the landmark issuance of its $900 million Eurobond. This historic transaction not only marks the Western Balkans’ first-ever corporate bond issuance in international markets but also represents one of the largest inaugural high-yield bond offerings in the TMT sector in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa since 2014. Additionally, it stands out as the largest single-tranche inaugural issuance from any corporate entity in Central and Eastern Europe since 2011. Listed on the Dublin Euronext Exchange, […]
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An (Un)expected Oligopoly At the end of October, the Belgian Competition Authority (L’Autorité belge de la Concurrence) (“ABC”) released an opinion on the state of competition in Belgium’s retail banking market (the “Opinion”). The Opinion revealed that the retail banking market in Belgium is an oligopoly. Four banks dominate the market: BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC, Belfius, and ING. As an oligopoly, the retail banking market exhibits specific characteristics. These include similar services on offer and frequent interactions between banks, facilitating coordination among the most prominent market participants and reducing competition. The most obvious example of services with identical commercial terms […]
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Gecić Law is delighted to announce its contribution to the renowned CEE Legal Matters Comparative Guides to Central and Eastern Europe series. This time, our expertise shines in the field of Banking and Finance, marking another milestone in our commitment to providing comprehensive legal insights. Our team, comprising Senior Associate Miloš Petaković and Associate Teodora Ristić, worked on the chapter dedicated to Serbia, shedding light on the legal framework governing the country’s financial services sector. With a comprehensive analysis of relevant legislation, the chapter offers essential information contributing to a detailed understanding of Serbia’s financial services landscape. The Banking and […]
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On Wednesday, our Senior Associate and a key member of our Banking & Finance team, Miloš Petaković, was invited to deliver a guest lecture on consumer protection for consumer loans in Serbia at the Faculty of Law of the European University in Rome. The class was held for the students of European Banking Law, led by Prof. Attilio Cristiano Vaccaro Belluscio. Miloš began the lecture by providing an overview of the history and general principles governing the banking system in Serbia and its position in the European context. He highlighted the regulatory and institutional landscapes that govern the banking sector […]
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At today’s session, the Executive Board of the NBS decided to again raise key interest rates by 50 basis points, to 3.5% ,, the deposit facility rate – to 2.5% and the credit facility rate – to 4.5%. The NBS had previously increased the key interest rate as per the decision of the Executive Board on August 11, this year. The NBS’s Executive Board continued to tighten the monetary policy.,attributing this trend to increasingly rising inflationary pressure. According to the NBS, the Executive Board assessed that, in the conditions of continued price pressures, as well as the growth of imported […]
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We live in the era of digitalization. Changes in technology inevitably affect our lives. One such innovation in Serbia are digital assets, which can be virtual / cryptocurrencies or digital tokens. Although the local legislation has only recently recognized this institute, an increasing number of companies that operate in Serbia now work in the sphere of cryptocurrencies. The Digital Assets Act (the “Act”) provides options and opens many doors for the use of digital assets, primarily cryptocurrencies. Therefore, the question whether cryptocurrencies are our future or our present arises. Opportunities for the use of cryptocurrencies are yet to be fully […]
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Cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, electronic money… are the talk of the world. A common question these days is what cryptocurrencies are and how they work. This question now has a more recent addition – what are digital currencies? Is digital currency a synonym for cryptocurrency? If not, what is the difference? If you are a fintech enthusiast, you may think that this is a great time to be alive. But if you are not, it is perfectly ok to be confused, even a bit scared by the changes happening this fast. The only thing we can do is to keep up […]
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This year will bring big changes, at least when it comes to financial markets. Namely, 2021 is when the long-awaited abolition of LIBOR will take place. Although there was a lot of talk about technical obstacles that need to be overcome, change was seemingly inevitable. LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) is the daily reference interest rate at which banks lend to each other on the interbank market. It gained in importance in the 1990s, when the British Banking Association (“BBA”) settled relevant standards of regulation, the collection and analysis of data obtained, which will serve as a basis for calculating […]
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Autumn on the European money market has sparked discussion on digital money. The rapid development and use of digital technology increased the volume of online/e-payments due to COVID-19, but also competition coming from digital currencies developed by other central banks, such as the Chinese central bank, from cryptocurrencies and digital currencies developed by tech giants, are some of the reasons that spurred the European Central Bank (ECB) i.e. Eurosystem to publish the Report on a digital euro. The Report analyses potential options and conditions under which the digital euro could operate, reflecting clear caution from its introduction as a means […]
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Money laundering – a crime that is not victimless In a globalized world where modern technology allows the rapid flow of funds, fighting money laundering has never been a more important and urgent need. Trillions of dollars are laundered each year and these funds fuel serious organized crime activities such as drug trade, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, terrorism, etc. Money laundering is far from a victimless crime, and, moreover, it harms society in a more perfidious manner than other crimes. The Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) is the leading global money laundering and terrorist financing “watchdog”. As a policy-making body, […]
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The National Bank of Serbia is making inroads into harmonizing local legislation with European Union (“EU”) legislation, especially into amending regulations governing the operation of banks and other financial institutions. The European Commission (“EC”) adopted a decision of importance for the Republic of Serbia, which was published on 18 December 2019 in the Official Journal of the EU. Serbia’s push to amend the regulatory and supervisory framework concerning banks’ operations and in particular to amend anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulation has borne fruit and is a step in the right direction for building a stable financial system. This decision […]
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The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia has adopted amendments and modifications to the Foreign Exchange Operations Act,[1] (“Act”) which entered into force, for the most part, on 28 April 2018.[2] These amendments, amongst other things, intend to ease business dealings for domestic IT companies, reduce restrictions pertaining to credit dealings with foreign countries (which is particularly important to multinational companies), expand possibilities for investing in foreign securities and amplify the supervising role of the National Bank of Serbia (“NBS”). This article aims to clarify some of the said amendments and their effect on the business dealings although we […]
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On September 20, 2017 the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU“) issued so far the most significant judgment concerning the loans denominated in Swiss francs (the “CHF”). Namely, by judgment in case C-186/16 (Ruxanda Paula Andriciuc and Others v. Banca Românească SA), the CJEU ruled that a financial institution which grants a loan denominated in a foreign currency is liable to provide the borrower with sufficient information, in order to enable him to make a thorough assessment of economic risks and consequences of entering into such contract, and to make a prudent decision on this issue. The […]
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The National Bank of Serbia adopted alterations and amendments to seven by-laws in the field of payment operations, thus resolving the dilemma regarding the liability of companies to use their corporate stamp when using payment services. The rule that companies are not obliged to use stamps in their business letters and other documents (unless otherwise prescribed by law), was explicitly set with the Companies Act, that became applicable in 2012. Even with the Payment Services Act, which applies since October of 2015 and which, in accordance with relevant EU directives provides that legal entities and entrepreneurs are not liable to […]
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