Tabaković rejects algorithmic accountability in finance
National Bank of Serbia Governor Jorgovanka Tabaković told financial leaders on September 30, 2026, that legal responsibility cannot be transferred to algorithms. Speaking in Belgrade, she stressed that operational resilience and public trust remain mandatory conditions for digital innovation.
No algorithm signs the balance sheet
Addressing the FIC and EBRD conference in Belgrade, Tabaković stated that mathematical models cannot replace human judgment in financial oversight: “There is no software to which we can transfer our responsibility.”
Pointing to technological adoption in Serbia, she noted that the domestic instant payment system, IPS NBS, handled 34.5 million transactions in the second quarter of 2026.
Registered mobile banking users reached 5.4 million, with more than 75 million mobile and electronic payments executed during the same period.
Furthermore, the NBS and 18 of the country’s 19 commercial banks joined the SEPA Credit Transfer scheme in May 2026 to accelerate cross-border settlement.
Rulebooks cannot replace resilience
Tabaković framed regulatory governance around macroeconomic stability and operational resilience rather than bureaucratic volume.
Highlighting Serbia’s August annual inflation of 2.2 percent and record gross foreign exchange reserves of €30.8 billion, she warned against regulatory complexity, noting that rulebook length does not shield against systemic risk.
Supervisors face a timing dilemma: intervening too early locks institutions into obsolete technology, while reacting too late allows unmanaged risks to spread across financial networks.
Sober skepticism without protectionism
Tabaković punctures artificial intelligence hype by anchoring institutional legitimacy in human liability.
Her framework rightly insists that operational continuity and customer trust outweigh technological novelty.
However, enforcing strict domestic boundaries remains fragile against concentrated global cloud providers.