Alta Banka in bankruptcy: What happens next?
On 31 October2026, the National Bank of Serbia (“NBS”) suddenly withdrew the operating license of ALTA banka a.d. Beograd (“Alta Bank”). It cited a sharp decline in the bank’s financial condition and mounting liquidity concerns as a reason for this drastic measure. The NBS also found that the statutory grounds for insolvency were met. This now means that Alta Bank is placed under the management of the Deposit Insurance Agency (“Agency”) and that insolvency proceedings against it will be opened.
The most important consequences of these developments are discussed below.
Secured Deposit insurance of up to EUR 50,000
Deposit insurance covers natural persons (including non-residents), entrepreneurs, and micro, small and medium-sized legal entities. The cap is EUR 50,000 per bank’s depositor. It is a single aggregate limit across all of depositor’s eligible accounts and currencies. Once insolvency proceedings against Alta Bank are initiated, the Agency will have three days to inform the creditors thereof along with instructions as to how the payment of the secured deposits will proceed; payments of the secured amounts would need to be made within seven days following the opening of the insolvency proceedings.
What happens to amounts above EUR 50,000 and to deposits of large firms?
Anything above the insured limit, and any deposit that falls outside the Agency secured scheme, must be pursued as a claim in insolvency proceedings. The claim’s ranking is decisive for recovery prospects.
The statutory payment ranks are as follows:
- Uninsured balances of eligible depositors;
- Certain recent tax and other public revenue claims;
- Claims of the NBS;
- Deposits of large companies;
- Ordinary unsecured claims and beneficiaries of guarantees issued by the bank.
Secured creditors are treated differently and they will have priority in the process of collection from the proceeds of the sale of the security given in their favor.
How to file claims?
In order to collect the value of claims falling outside the Agency secured scheme, the creditors will have to file their claims before the Commercial Court of Belgrade. The deadline for filing the claims will be between 30 and 90 days and will be precisely set in the publication of the insolvency notice in the Official Gazette. Every creditor must file within the prescribed window, regardless of whether its claim is secured or not. Claims should be supported by documentary evidence and should identify any collateral held. The percentage of the amounts that will be collected will depend on the remaining property of Alta Bank that will be sold throughout the insolvency process.
Pending loans and credit agreements concluded with Alta Bank
Insolvency proceedings do not release borrowers from their obligations. In other words, companies and natural persons will have to repay their loans, and security and guarantees given for them stay in place. We expect that the relevant payment instructions will be shared by the Agency relatively quickly.
What happens with guarantees issued by Alta Bank?
Where a contract depends on a guarantee or letter of credit issued by Alta Bank, the parties should check whether the contract requires a replacement instrument and by when. At this moment, the guarantees given by Alta Bank are not effective and cannot be encashed. The beneficiary cannot get paid by Alta Bank outside of insolvency, so a call on the guarantee becomes a claim in insolvency, ranked with ordinary unsecured claims.
Our office has Russian, German, Italian and French speaking attorneys and for any help with these matters, please contact our dispute resolution partner Filip Šušulić at filip.susulic@rspartners.rs.
This publication is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Specific advice should be sought before taking or refraining from any action based on its contents.