Serbia revokes Alta Banka licence days after Vučić's SNS lost the election

Licence pulled overnight

The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) revoked the operating licence of Alta Banka after its Executive Committee found that the lender's finances had deteriorated significantly. The bank is owned through the Alta Group holding, 100% by Davor Macura, an entrepreneur reported to be close to former president Aleksandar Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). The central bank announced the decision two and a half hours after midnight on 31 October. Local media reported crowds at branches and cash machines in Serbia and North Macedonia, where Alta has a subsidiary, as savers tried to pull out their money. Cash withdrawals were no longer possible in Serbia, and the central bank said deposits would be repaid later. Alta's North Macedonian subsidiary said its operations were continuing as normal.

In its statement, the central bank cited the bank's weakened position and the risk of further deterioration:

“The bank's financial situation has significantly deteriorated in recent times, and there is a risk of a further worsening of its financial position or liquidity.”

Regulator's findings

The NBS said a control had preceded the move and that Alta had failed to comply with corrective measures ordered to raise its liquidity. Before the revocation, the regulator had imposed temporary restrictions, and the Serbian outlet Danas reported that Alta had been cut off from the instant payment system. The central bank did not say what the control found in detail or over what period it ran, and told BBC it would inform the public in the coming days. Alta ranks as the ninth-largest bank in Serbia according to NOS, but holds only about 3% of the market according to BFMTV and BBC. The bank had handled electricity bill payments for the state utility EPS since July 2025, a arrangement the student movement denounced at the time. EPS said it would announce details of the changed payment account later.

Four deputy governors of the NBS have asked the public prosecutor to establish all the facts and any criminal liability of the NBS. They said they learned of Alta's real condition only at an urgent extraordinary Executive Board session on the evening of Friday, 30 October, a picture that differed sharply from the reports the bank had submitted.

Election backdrop

The revocation came six days after the parliamentary elections of 25 October, which the opposition Student list won. Electoral Commission projections gave the Student list 141 of 250 seats against 103 for the SNS. AFP described the vote as ending the SNS's 14-year rule, while NOS put the period at twelve years. The student movement has pledged to end widespread corruption and bring those responsible to justice.

Student list141

SNS103

Student list

141 seats

SNS

103 seats

Data from the article text

Deposits and bankruptcy procedure

A bankruptcy procedure has been opened, and the Deposit Insurance Agency has been named to manage the bank's assets. Insured deposits of up to €50,000 per client are to be paid within seven days of the Commercial Court formally opening proceedings, though a DW report gives the window as seven working days. The central bank named Poštanska štedionica and OTP as the banks where depositors can withdraw insured funds. NOS reported that claims can be lodged from Monday, 2 November, and the Serbian banking association said the other banks were operating normally and stably. The central bank also said the procedure does not release borrowers from their debts, and that they can expect clear instructions on repayment.

Investigation and the €50 million transfer

Prosecutors who handle organised-crime cases said in a statement that they had opened an investigation into Alta's activities, officials at the national bank and capital transfers abroad. The probe follows a complaint by Srđan Milivojević, leader of the opposition Democratic Party (DS), who said on Thursday, 29 October, that he had filed a criminal complaint after obtaining information about a planned transfer of €50 million from Alta to a correspondent bank abroad. In North Macedonia, the SDSM politician Andrej Žernovski said on 30 October that more than €50 million had reached the account of Alta's local branch and could have gone to Russia. The North Macedonian central bank governor called those claims unverified, while Alta insists its transactions were lawful and calls the accusations an organised campaign against it. Alta had offered services to non-residents, so many Russians opened accounts there after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Its active clients rose from 47,400 to 66,500 in 2025, although it is unclear how many were Russian citizens. Rumours had circulated for days that trusted associates of Vučić had moved large sums from Alta accounts to Russia and North Macedonia, NOS reported.