2025-07-18
The Executive Board of the National Bank of Serbia issued this Decision to establish detailed requirements and procedures for the independent valuation of bank assets and liabilities before and after resolution. It defines the independence criteria for appointed valuers, mandates specific methodologies for pre-resolution and post-resolution valuations, and outlines the necessary content for valuation reports. The regulation ensures that losses are fully recognized and determines whether shareholders and creditors would fare better in resolution versus bankruptcy.
RS Official Gazette, No 51/2025 Pursuant to Article 128i, paragraph 18 and Article 128w, paragraph 8 of the Law on Banks (RS Official Gazette, Nos 107/2005, 91/2010, 14/2015 and 19/2025) and Article 15a, paragraph 1 of the Law on the National Bank of Serbia (RS Official Gazette, Nos 72/2003, 55/2004, 85/2005 ‒ other law, 44/2010, 76/2012, 106/2012, 14/2015 and 40/2025 – CC decision, 44/2018 and 19/2025), the Executive Board of the National Bank of Serbia issues the following D E C I S I O N ON DETAILED REQUIREMENTS AND MANNER OF INDEPENDENT VALUATION OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES OF A BANK BEFORE AND AFTER BANK RESOLUTION C h a p t e r I MAIN PROVISIONS
2 performance of an independent valuation before initiating the resolution procedure, and which is used in the resolution procedure until the independent valuer performs the definitive valuation of the bank’s assets and liabilities; 4) definitive valuation means an independent valuation performed by an independent valuer following the initiation of the resolution procedure when the urgency prevents the performance of an independent valuation before initiating the resolution procedure; 5) valuer means an independent valuer or the NBS when conducting a provisional valuation; 6) relevant authority means any public authority or an institution entrusted with the exercise of public authorisations; 7) fair value means the price that could be achieved by selling the assets or received for the transfer of liabilities in an ordinary transaction between market participants on the valuation date, in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards or International Accounting Standards (hereinafter: IFRS/IAS); 8) hold value means the current value of cash flows, discounted at an adequate rate, that can be reasonably expected under fair, prudent and realistic assumptions for the bank’s assets or liabilities retained after resolution, taking into account factors influencing the behaviour of clients or other contracting parties and/or other valuation parameters in the context of resolution; 9) disposal value means the value determined based on expected cash flows, reduced by disposal costs and the expected value of any provided guarantees, which can be reasonably expected under current market conditions within the framework of a regular sale or transfer of the bank’s assets and liabilities; 10) franchise value means the net present value of cash flows that can be reasonably expected as a result of maintaining and renewing the bank’s assets and liabilities or its ongoing operations. It incorporates the impact of business conditions, where relevant, including those arising from the application of various resolution measures or tools, which the independent valuer took into account. This value may be higher or lower than the value derived from the contractual terms of the assets and liabilities as of the date of the independent valuation; 11) equity value means the estimated market price for transferred or issued shares of the bank, derived from the application of generally accepted valuation methods. Depending on the nature of the assets or operations, this value may also include franchise value; 12) measurement basis represents the independent valuer’s approach in determining the monetary amounts at which assets and liabilities are recognised; 13) resolution decision date means the date when the decision to
3 initiate the resolution procedure from Article 128j of the Law was made; 14) close-out date represents the date and time of closing the transaction and of the termination of the derivative contract specified in the NBS decision on close-out, and/or termination or early maturity of derivative contracts in the event of the initiation of the resolution procedure; 15) replacement transaction means a transaction concluded on or after the close-out date to re-establish, based on net risk exposure, the internal hedge or related trading position that was closed, under economic terms equivalent to those of the closed-out transaction; 16) market replacement transaction means a replacement transaction concluded based on net risk exposure, under terms consistent with customary market practice and derived from the best possible cost-benefit ratio in the specific case. 3. The independent valuation from Article 128i of the Law shall be conducted for the purpose of providing data and information based on which the NBS shall determine whether the conditions have been met for the writedown and conversion of capital or eligible liabilities, and/or for initiating the bank resolution procedure, as well as to ensure that all of the bank’s losses are fully recognised in its business books and financial statements. The independent valuation from paragraph 1 hereof shall be carried out if the NBS has assessed the following:
4 C h a p t e r II TERMS AND MANNER OF APPOINTING AN INDEPENDENT VALUER Elements of independence 4. An independent valuer shall be deemed independent if the following conditions are met:
5 expenses as are reasonable in connection with the conduct of the independent valuation. Structural and legal separation 6. The audit firm – candidate for an independent valuer – and its licensed authorised auditors must be structurally and legally separated from any relevant authority, including the NBS, from the bank for which the independent valuation is being carried out or a member of the bank’s banking group (hereinafter: relevant persons). For the purposes of paragraph 1 hereof, a person shall be deemed structurally and legally separated if it is not related to a relevant person within the meaning of the Law. Material common or conflicting interest 7. The independent valuer shall not have an actual or potential material interest in common or in conflict with any relevant person. For the purposes of paragraph 1 hereof, an actual or potential interest shall be deemed material whenever, in the assessment of the NBS, it could influence the independent valuer’s judgement in carrying out the independent valuation. For the purposes of paragraph 1 hereof, interests in common or in conflict with the following parties shall be relevant:
6 2) personal and financial relationships between the candidate for an independent valuer, the relevant person and the persons referred to in paragraph 3 hereof; 3) investments or other material financial interests of the candidate for an independent valuer; 4) mechanisms which the candidate for an independent valuer has or intends to put in place to address any threats to independence (such as selfreview of independence, mutual financial benefit, advocacy of interests of the relevant person or persons from paragraph 3 hereof, familiarity, intimidation, etc.), including procedures to clearly differentiate between those staff members of such person who may be involved in the independent valuation and other staff members. Without prejudice to paragraphs 3 and 4 hereof, the candidate for an independent valuer shall be deemed to have an actual material interest in common or in conflict with the interest of the relevant person where the candidate, in the year preceding the date on which that person’s independence is assessed, has completed external audit and/or special audit, or provided consultancy services to the relevant person in this period. Any candidate considered for the position of an independent valuer, or appointed as an independent valuer, shall:
7 valuations, including the cost of that person’s engagement and the operating, technical and staff capacities. The NBS and the appointed independent valuer shall conclude a contract on performing an independent valuation, specifying in particular the subject of the independent valuation, deadline for submitting the report on the performed independent valuation, confidentiality clause about the data associated with the subject of the independent valuation and the amount of the compensation for performing the valuation. C h a p t e r III METHODOLOGY FOR PERFORMING AN INDEPENDENT VALUATION BEFORE INITIATING THE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE Part 1 General provisions General criteria 9. When performing an independent valuation, the independent valuer shall consider all circumstances that may affect the expected cash flows of and discount rates applicable to a bank’s assets and liabilities, with the aim of fair, prudent and realistic disclosure of the bank’s financial position and risks it is exposed to. The independent valuer shall disclose and justify the key assumptions used in the independent valuation, especially elaborating on the differences between these assumptions and the assumptions used by the bank’s management body in the preparation of financial statements and statements on the regulatory capital and capital requirements, and support these differences by adequate facts. The independent valuer shall provide the best possible estimate of the value of a given asset, liability or combinations thereof. Where appropriate, the results of such valuation shall also be provided in the form of value ranges. The criteria laid down in this Decision for the measurement of individual assets and liabilities shall also apply to the measurement of portfolios or groups of assets or combined assets and liabilities, businesses, or the bank considered as a whole, as the circumstances require.
8 The independent valuation shall subdivide creditors in classes under applicable law governing bankruptcy and insolvency, and shall include the following estimates:
9 possible to the valuation date, the relevant information from paragraph 1 hereof may include the following:
10 13. The independent valuer shall provide an independent valuation report to the NBS which shall include at least the following elements:
11 The independent valuer shall determine the most appropriate valuation methodology which may rely on the bank’s internal models where the valuer deems it appropriate taking into account the nature of the bank’s risk management system and the quality of data and information available. The valuation from this Section must be consistent with the applicable framework for financial reporting, i.e. IFRS/IAS. Areas requiring particular attention in the independent valuation 15. The independent valuer shall particularly focus on areas subject to significant valuation uncertainty which have a significant impact on the overall independent valuation. For those areas, the independent valuer shall provide the best possible estimates and, where applicable, present the results of the independent valuation as value ranges, in accordance with Section 9, paragraph 3 of this Decision. Those areas shall include:
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13 Where the values of the independent valuation diverge significantly from the values presented by the bank in the financial statements, the independent valuer shall use the assumptions of that valuation, to inform the adjustments to the assumptions and to the accounting policies necessary for the preparation of the updated financial statements under Article 128i, paragraph 7 of the Law, in a way consistent with the IFRS/IAS. As regards losses identified by the independent valuer which cannot be recognised in the updated financial statements, the valuer shall specify the amount, describe the reasons underlying the determination of the losses and the likelihood and time horizon of their occurrence. Where capital instruments and eligible liabilities are converted to equity, an independent valuation shall provide an estimate of the postconversion equity value of new shares transferred or issued as consideration to holders of converted capital instruments or other creditors. The estimate from this paragraph shall form the basis for the determination of the conversion rate or rates pursuant to Article 128t, paragraph 6 of the Law. Selection of the measurement basis 18. In selecting the most appropriate approach for the independent valuation, the independent valuer shall take into account the range of resolution measures and tools to be examined according to Section 17, paragraph 1 of this Decision. The independent valuer shall determine the cash flows that the bank can expect on the basis of fair, prudent and realistic assumptions from existing assets and liabilities following the application of the resolution measures and tools, discounted at an appropriate rate as determined in accordance with paragraph 7 hereof. Cash flows shall be determined at the appropriate level of aggregation, ranging from individual assets and liabilities to portfolios or businesses, with due consideration to differences in the risk profiles. Where the resolution measures and tools referred to in Section 17, paragraph 1 of this Decision require that assets and liabilities are to be retained by a bank that continues to operate, the independent valuer shall use the hold value as the appropriate measurement basis. The hold value may, if considered fair, prudent and realistic, anticipate a normalisation of market conditions.
14 The hold value shall not be used as the measurement basis where assets are transferred to an asset management vehicle or a bridge bank, or in case of the application of a share or asset and liabilities sale tool. Where the resolution measures and tools referred to Section 17, paragraph 1 of this Decision envisage the sale of assets, the expected cash flows shall correspond to the disposal values envisaged for the expected disposal horizon. The discount rates shall be determined having regard to the timing of cash flows, risk profile, financing costs and market conditions as appropriate to the asset or liability being measured, the disposal strategy considered and the bank’s post-resolution financial position. Specific factors relating to the estimation and discounting of expected cash flows 19. For the purpose of estimating cash flows, the independent valuer shall apply their expert judgement in determining key characteristics of the assets or liabilities being measured, as well as in determining how the continuation, potential renewal or refinancing, run-off or disposal of those assets or liabilities, as envisaged in the examined resolution measure or tool, affect those cash flows. Where the resolution measure or tool envisages a bank continuing to operate or holding an asset or maintaining a liability, the independent valuer may take into account factors potentially affecting future cash flows, including the following:
15 shall be referenced to disposal values expected within a given disposal period. The disposal value shall be determined by the independent valuer in accordance with this Decision, depending on circumstances and taking into account the resolution measures and tools that should be applied in the resolution procedure. The disposal value can also be determined by the reduction of the available market price for a given sale or transfer by the amount of the potential discount due to an urgent sale. To determine the disposal value of assets which do not have a liquid market, the independent valuer shall consider observable prices on markets where similar assets are traded or model calculations using observable market parameters, with discounts for illiquidity reflected as appropriate. The independent valuer shall have regard to factors that might affect disposal values and disposal periods, including the following:
16 consider the disposal values and disposal periods observed in public auctions involving assets of a similar nature and condition. The determination of expected cash flows shall take into account illiquidity, the absence of reliable inputs for the determination of disposal values, and the resulting need to rely on valuation methodologies based on assumptions that lack market data. Part 4 Provisional valuation Methodology for calculating and including a buffer for additional losses 20. The performance of the provisional valuation from Article 128i, paragraphs 9 and 10 of the Law shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 9 to 19 of this Decision, to the extent possible, bearing in mind the urgency of action and other circumstances justifying this valuation. To address the uncertainty of provisional valuations conducted to provide data and information for the selection of measures to be taken in relation to the write-down and conversion of capital instruments and/or bank resolution in accordance with Article 128i, paragraph 2 of the Law, the valuer shall include in the provisional valuation a buffer to reflect facts and circumstances supporting the existence of additional losses of uncertain amount or timing. In order to avoid double counting of uncertainty, the assumptions supporting the calculation of the buffer shall be adequately explained and justified by the valuer. In order to determine the size of the buffer, the valuer shall identify factors that may affect expected cash flows as a result of resolution measures and tools likely to be applied. For the purposes of paragraph 2 hereof, the valuer may extrapolate losses estimated for a part of the bank’s assets to the remainder of the bank’s balance sheet. Where available, average losses estimated for assets of peer competitors may also be extrapolated, subject to the necessary adjustments for differences in the business model and financial structure. C h a p t e r IV METHODOLOGY FOR PERFORMING AN INDEPENDENT VALUATION OF THE LOSSES OF SHAREHOLDERS, CREDITORS AND THE DEPOSIT INSURANCE FUND IN THE RESOLUTION AND BANKRUPTCY PROCEDURES
17 General provisions 21. For the purposes of determining the treatment of bank shareholders and creditors under normal bankruptcy instead of the resolution procedure, the independent valuation shall be conducted based only on information about facts and circumstances which existed and could reasonably have been known at the resolution decision date which, had they been known by the independent valuer, would have affected the measurement of the assets and liabilities of the entity at that date. For purposes of determining the actual treatment of shareholders and creditors in the resolution procedure, the independent valuer shall rely on available information concerning facts and circumstances existing as of the actual treatment date or dates at which shareholders and creditors received adequate compensation (actual treatment date). For the purposes of valuation from paragraph 1 hereof, the reference date of the valuation shall be the resolution decision date, which may differ from the actual treatment date. Insofar as the independent valuer deems the impact of any discounting of the proceeds to be negligible, the undiscounted proceeds at the resolution decision date may be directly compared with the discounted amount of hypothetical proceeds that shareholders and creditors would have received had the bank entered normal bankruptcy proceedings at the resolution decision date. Inventory of assets and claims 22. The independent valuer shall establish an inventory of all identifiable and contingent assets owned by the bank, including assets for which the existence of associated cash flows is demonstrated or can reasonably be expected that such cash flows shall arise in the near future. A list of all claims and contingent claims against the bank shall be made available to the independent valuer. That list shall classify all claims and contingent claims according to their priority levels in accordance with the law governing bankruptcy and liquidation procedures of banks. The independent valuer shall be allowed to enter into arrangements for specialist advice or expertise as regards the consistency of the ranking of creditors. Encumbered assets and claims secured by those assets shall be identified separately by the independent valuer. Steps of the valuation 23. For the purposes of Article 128w, paragraph 2 of the Law, the
18 independent valuer shall assess:
19 where available and relevant. For assets traded in an active market, the independent valuer shall use the market prices, except where specific circumstances hamper the marketability of the assets, such as concentration, saturation and depth of the market. For assets not traded in an active market, the independent valuer shall consider a number of factors when determining the amount and timing of expected cash flows, including:
20 Sections 27 to 36 of this Decision, to the extent consistent with the law governing bankruptcy and liquidation, and the relevant practice. Determination of the actual treatment of shareholders and creditors in resolution 25. The independent valuer shall identify all claims outstanding after the write-down or conversion of capital instruments and eligible liabilities, and the application of any resolution tools, and shall assign those claims to the legal and natural persons who were the bank’s shareholders and creditors at the resolution decision date. Except where the legal and natural persons from paragraph 1 hereof have received cash compensation as a result of the resolution, the independent valuer shall determine their actual treatment in accordance with paragraphs 3 to 5 hereof. Where the legal and natural persons from paragraph 1 hereof have received equity compensation as a result of the resolution, the independent valuer shall determine their actual treatment by providing an estimate of the overall value of shares transferred or issued as consideration to the holders of converted capital instruments or to the bailed-in creditors. That estimate may be based on the assessed market price resulting from generally accepted valuation methodologies. Where the legal and natural persons from paragraph 1 hereof have received compensation in the form of debt instruments as a result of resolution, the independent valuer shall determine the actual treatment by taking into account factors such as the changes in contractual cash flows that result from the write-down or conversion, or the application of other resolution measures and tools, as well as the relevant discount rate. For any outstanding claim, the independent valuer may take into account, where available and together with the factors described in paragraphs 3 and 4 hereof, prices observed in active markets for the same or similar instruments issued by banks under resolution or other similar entities. Independent valuation report from Article 128w of the Law 26. The independent valuer shall prepare an independent valuation report from Article 128w of the Law to the NBS which shall include at least the following elements:
21 of valuation ranges and sources of valuation uncertainty; 2) an explanation of the key methodologies and assumptions adopted, and how sensitive the valuation is to these choices; 3) an explanation, where feasible, why the valuation differs from other relevant valuations, including the provisional valuation or other regulatory or accounting valuations. C h a p t e r V VALUATION OF LIABILITIES ARISING FROM DERIVATIVE CONTRACTS Decision on the close-out of derivative contracts 27. The NBS shall apply the resolution measure or tool involving the writedown or conversion of a bank’s liabilities arising from derivative contracts only at the moment or after the close-out of positions in these liabilities. When initiating a resolution procedure, for the purposes of write-down or conversion from paragraph 1 hereof, the NBS may close out or terminate or declare due contracts from which the liabilities from that paragraph arose, and close positions in those liabilities. Where the liabilities from paragraph 1 hereof are excluded from the write-down and conversion in accordance with Article 128q, paragraph 6 of the Law, the NBS shall not be obliged to close out contracts from which these liabilities arose or to close positions in those liabilities. 28. Where derivative transactions are subject to a netting agreement, in the course of the independent valuation the valuer shall determine the liabilities arising from these transactions on a net basis, in accordance with the terms of the agreement. 29. The valuer shall determine the value of liabilities arising from derivative contracts by applying the following:
22 resolution tool. Comparison of the destruction in value of derivatives and potential losses under the bail-in tool 30. The methodology from Section 29, item 3) of this Decision shall imply the comparison of the following two amounts:
23 independent valuation conducted to provide the NBS with appropriate information and data required for the selection of an appropriate resolution tool or measure. Notification about the decision to close out derivative contracts 31. Prior to applying the resolution measure or tool for the write-down or conversion of liabilities from Section 27, paragraph 1 of this Decision, the NBS shall notify the counterparties from the derivative contracts about the decision to close out those contracts. The decision to close out the derivatives contract from paragraph 1 hereof shall take effect immediately, or at a later close-out date as specified in the decision, which must be stated in the notification from that paragraph. In the decision from paragraph 1 hereof, the NBS shall specify a date and time, in accordance with Section 36, paragraph 1, item 3) of this Decision, by which counterparties may provide evidence of commercially reasonable replacement trades for the purpose of determining the close-out amount pursuant to Section 34, paragraph 1 of this Decision. The counterparty shall also provide to the NBS a summary of any commercially reasonable replacement trades. The NBS may change the date and time from paragraph 3 hereof where such change is consistent with Section 36, paragraph 1, item 3) of this Decision, whereof it shall notify the counterparties. In the decision from paragraph 1 hereof, the NBS may specify the criteria it intends to apply when assessing whether replacement trades are commercially reasonable. By way of exception, provisions from paragraphs 1 to 5 hereof shall not apply to the close-out and valuation of centrally cleared derivative contracts entered into between the bank under resolution, acting as a clearing member, and a central counterparty (CCP). Applying the netting agreement 32. Where derivative transactions are subject to a netting agreement, the NBS or the independent valuer shall determine, in accordance with Sections 28, 33, 34 and 35 of this Decision, a single amount which the bank under resolution has the legal right to receive or the legal obligation to pay as a result of the close-out of all the derivative contracts in the netting set, as defined in the netting agreement.
24 Valuation principle for early termination amount 33. The NBS or the independent valuer shall determine the value of liabilities arising from derivative contracts as an early termination amount calculated as the sum of the following amounts:
25 usual processes within the bank under resolution at the date determined pursuant to Section 36 of this Decision; 2) the mid-to-bid spread or mid-to-offer spread, depending on the direction of the netted risk position; 3) adjustments to the prices and spreads from items 1) and 2) of this paragraph where necessary to reflect the liquidity of the market for the underlying risks or instruments and the size of the exposure relative to market depth, as well as possible model risk. With regard to intra-group liabilities, the valuer may establish the value at mid-market end-of-day prices as referred to in paragraph 2, item 1) hereof, without regard to items 2) and 3) of that paragraph, where the resolution strategy would imply re-hedging the terminated transactions via another intragroup derivative transaction or group of transactions. For determining a value of the close-out amount pursuant to paragraph 2 hereof, the valuer shall consider a full range of available and reliable data sources and may rely on observable market data or theoretical prices generated by valuation models aimed at estimating values, including the following sources of data:
26 bank under resolution and a CCP, except in the exceptional circumstances set out in Section 35, paragraph 7 of this Decision. Valuation of cleared derivative contracts entered into between a bank under resolution and a CCP 35. The valuer shall establish the value of liabilities arising from derivative contracts entered between, on the one hand, a bank under resolution acting as a clearing member and, on the other hand, a CCP, based on the valuation principles specified in Section 33 of this Decision. The early termination amount shall be determined by the CCP, within the deadline specified in paragraph 5 hereof, in accordance with the CCP default procedures, after deducting the collateral provided by the bank under resolution including initial margin, variation margin and contributions of the bank under resolution to the default fund of the CCP, if any. The NBS shall communicate to the CCP and the CCP’s competent authority its decision to close out the derivative contracts pursuant to Section 27, paragraph 1 of this Decision. The CCP shall provide the NBS, at its request, its valuation of the early termination amount for all the derivative contracts in the relevant netting set, in accordance with the CCP default procedure. The CCP shall provide the NBS with the CCP default procedure documents and shall report the default management steps undertaken. The NBS shall, in agreement with the CCP and the CCP’s competent authority, set the deadline by which the CCP must provide the valuation of the early termination amount, for which purpose, both of the following shall be taken into account:
27 amount within the deadline set out in paragraph 5 hereof; 2) the CCP’s valuation of the early termination amount is not in line with the CCP default procedures. Point in time for establishing the value of derivative liabilities 36. The valuer shall determine the value of derivative liabilities at the following point in time:
28 valuation shall be taken into account in the ex post definitive valuation carried out pursuant to Article 128i, paragraph 13 of the Law. C h a p t e r VI FINAL PROVISIONS 37. As of the application date of this Decision, the Decision on Detailed Requirements and Manner of Independent Valuation of Assets and Liabilities of a Bank Aimed at Determining Whether the Conditions for Bank Resolution Are Met shall cease to be valid (RS Official Gazette, Nos 30/2015 and 78/2015). 38. This Decision shall come into effect on the eighth day after its publication in the RS Official Gazette and shall apply as of 1 October 2025. NBS EB No 42 Chair 12 June 2025 of the NBS Executive Board B e l g r a d e G o v e r n o r National Bank of Serbia Dr Jorgovanka Tabaković, sign.