In three years of existence, the Pledge Register has registered 30,000 active pledges over movable assets and rights. Since the beginning of the year, the Register received 11,863 requests for the registration of pledges.
The Pledge Register is a single electronic database of contracts of pledges over movable assets and rights, legal (which arise in tax proceedings) and judicial pledges (which arise in enforcement proceedings). The Register begun to operate on 15 August 2005. Before its constitution, in Serbia there were no records on this specific type of collateral for loans. Until three years ago, pledge was little known among the local community and corporate sector.
In this first 4.5 months of work, the Register received 4,783 applications for registration of pledges. The Serbian Business Registers Agency first proceeded to register “old” pledges, in order to ensure legal protection of the right of priority of creditors in the case of debt settlement. In the course of 2006, 9,135 pledges were filed and in 2007, 14,332 applications were received.
The number of registered pledges in 2007 increased by 56.89 per cent in comparison with 2006, while in the first 7.5 months of this year the number of pledges grew by 7.28 per cent, compared to the same period last year. If this trend continues, it is to be expected that by the year’s end the number of registered pledges will exceed the previous year’s growth rate.
The registered pledges serve as collateral for claims amounting to RSD 180 billion, EUR 12 billion, CHF 420 million, KR 1.5 million and USD 440 million.
As regards the structure of pledges, the most frequent users of this type of loan collateral are banks (more than 57%), followed by companies, the Development Fund of the Republic of Serbia and associations (21%), as well as the Tax Administration, in other words the Republic of Serbia in whose favor the pledge right is registered as a guarantee for the settlement of tax debts (20%).
In most cases, pledged assets are machines and equipment, passenger and freight vehicles and property rights (shares, claims and similar). Intellectual property is also the object of pledge (trademarks and other) registered in this Register until the time when special regulations are adopted to regulate the matter of registration of pledge rights in intellectual property registers.
Just as a reminder, by instituting a pledge right, the pledger does not loose the rights over a pledged asset (he/she gains profit by using the pledged asset, has the possibility to transfer ownership, to rent or lease a pledged asset for use by third parties), while the pledgee through registration in the public register ensures right of priority in the settlement of debt. The existence of an electronic register, whose data are in the public domain, increases legal security for doing business, simplifies the procedure for obtaining a loan, while Serbia ensures greater legal security for its citizens and the economy.