The decision was taken overnight into 31 October. The National Bank of Serbia said the revocation followed supervisory measures aimed at improving Alta Bank's liquidity, and that the regulator had established the lender's financial condition had significantly worsened.
The bank itself confirmed the start of bankruptcy proceedings and the suspension of card operations and transfers. According to the Serbian outlet Danas, the bank was disconnected from the instant payments system on 30 October, after which transfers to and from its accounts stopped going through.
Payouts will be handled by the state Deposit Insurance Agency. Deposits of individuals, sole traders and micro, small and medium-sized companies are insured up to 50,000 euros per depositor, a sum that covers balances across all accounts. Dinar funds will be returned in the national currency and foreign-currency deposits in euros. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, payments will begin no later than seven working days after a court ruling opens the bankruptcy.
Alta Bank served non-residents and was among the most popular banks where Russians opened accounts after moving to Serbia. Its 2025 financial statements show active clients rose from 47,400 to 66,500, roughly 40% in a year; how many are Russian citizens is not specified. The bank had more than 10,000 corporate clients.
Members of the Serbian chat of the Kovcheg project said they could no longer withdraw money from their accounts or transfer it to another bank. The scale of payment disruptions for Russian entrepreneurs has not yet been established.
Days before the licence was revoked, the bank became the centre of a political scandal. On 29 October, Serbian Democratic Party leader Srdjan Milivojevic filed a complaint with prosecutors against National Bank governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic over an alleged 50 million euro transfer linked to Alta Bank, demanding the legality of the operation be checked. The National Bank rejected suspicions of illegal transfers on 27 October. Alta Bank on 30 October called the accusations an organised campaign against the bank.
Andrej Zhernovski, a representative of the opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, said more than 50 million euros had been urgently transferred from Belgrade-based Alta Bank to Alta Banka Makedonija. He alleged the money could have been moved on from there to Moscow. The head of North Macedonia's central bank called the claims unverified.
According to the National Bank of Serbia's register, 100% of Alta Bank's shares belong to Alta Group. The bank's board chairman is businessman Davor Macura, whose business group also operates in payment services, retail and real estate. According to Radio Liberty's Balkan service, US congressman Joe Wilson asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 14 October to consider sanctions against four Serbian businessmen, including Macura. The letter accused them of ties to Aleksandar Vucic's circle and of abusing state resources.