National Bank of Serbia withdraws licence of Alta Banka a.d. Belgrade
The Serbian central bank revoked the licence of Alta Banka a.d. Belgrade; the parent controls 95.23% of the former Stopanska Banka Bitola acquired in October 2025.
The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) has withdrawn the operating licence of Alta Banka a.d. Belgrade after determining a sharp deterioration in the lender's financial position and a material liquidity risk. The NBS said the measure was taken to protect depositors and preserve the stability of the financial system.
Following the licence withdrawal, a competent court will appoint the Agency for Deposit Insurance as the bankruptcy manager. The NBS announced that payment of insured deposits and the handling of depositors' funds should begin within seven working days, in line with legal provisions.
The decision has immediate relevance for North Macedonia because Alta Banka a.d. Belgrade owns 95.23 percent of the voting shares in Alta Bank AD Bitola; the remaining 4.77 percent belongs to minority shareholders. That ownership structure was established in October 2025, when the Serbian banking group acquired the then Stopanska Banka Bitola with approval from the National Bank of North Macedonia and integrated the Bitola bank into the regional Alta financial group headquartered in Belgrade.
Separate legal entities — separate oversight
Revocation of the parent bank's licence in Serbia does not automatically mean that Alta Bank AD Bitola stops operating. The Bitola institution is a distinct Macedonian legal entity, supervised by the National Bank of North Macedonia, and its continuity depends on its own financial condition and decisions by domestic regulators.
The episode has intensified political debate in North Macedonia, after public reports about transfers from the Belgrade parent to its Bitola subsidiary. Media outlets also reported that Alta Pay, a company within the Alta group, urged business partners shortly before the licence withdrawal to route payments through accounts at other banks — specifically Poštanska štedionica and OTP Bank — instead of prior payment channels, which was described as an unusual change in transaction processing.
The NBS decision raises questions about the future operation of the regional banking group and potential consequences for its Macedonian affiliate. Domestic supervisors and political actors will be watching closely as regulators and the appointed bankruptcy manager implement the next steps.
Photo: press material from the event
