In the first thirty years of its operations, key functions of the privileged National Bank of the Kingdom of Serbia (1884-1914) were those of a creditor of the economy, issuer of currency and banker to the government. The National Bank’s success in the performance of its functions was mainly determined by the state of government finances. Peace and stability are a prerequisite for economic development and when we look at Serbia’s history from 1884 to 1914, all we see is a chain of wars. In such circumstances, Serbia did make significant economic headway, and the National Bank did do its best to achieve the goal it was set up to perform – to promote trade and economic activity by providing credits.