The development of Serbian banking during the 19th century was a gradual process that underwent two distinctive stages with the turning point in 1878 when Serbia became an independent state by the international agreement concluded at the Berlin Congress. In the first stage, until 1878, necessary political, economic and institutional preconditions had been formed for the rise of banking that led to the creation of the first organized credits and banks. During the second stage, decisive programme of economic and institutional development and modernization resulted in the mushrooming growth of banks. Apart from the Privileged National Bank of the Kingdom of Serbia (National Bank), as a bank of note issue, there were state banks and privately-owned banks mostly in the form of joint-stock companies. From 1894, farmers started to establish farm cooperative societies as institutions that met their credit needs with a much more favourable terms than banks. Analyses suggests that banks in the Kingdom of Serbia during 1878-1914 period better served the development of trade, building of the infrastructure (railroads) and industry than credit needs of the farmers who were the main economic agent of the country representing 85% of the total population.