Poštanska Štedionica Signs Alta Payout Deal as Student List Urges Calm
The state bank will pay Alta Banka's insured depositors; payout dates are still pending. North Macedonia's PM warns of knock-on bankruptcies.
Banka Poštanska štedionica and Serbia's Deposit Insurance Agency signed a contract on Thursday, 5 November, for the payout of insured deposits to clients of Alta Banka, whose licence the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) revoked on the night of 30–31 October. The two institutions described the signing as a regular step in preparing the payout and said the date and method of payment will be announced later through official channels.
Who gets paid, and when
Deposits of individuals, entrepreneurs and small firms are insured up to 50,000 euros per depositor. Larger deposits, including those of companies and public enterprises, are not insured and will depend on what the bankruptcy estate recovers.
Rumours about the paying bank
The payout bank has itself been the subject of public claims about its liquidity. Poštanska štedionica asked the NBS for additional supervision of its liquidity and financial flows, saying it wanted to leave no room for unfounded claims; according to N1, the central bank introduced enhanced liquidity monitoring and extra procedures for certain transactions. In late October the bank had denied a claim by Student List figure Nemanja Karović that an attempt was made to move about one billion dinars out of it, calling the claim untrue.
Late on Thursday the Student List called on citizens to stay calm and rely on verified information, saying measures to preserve the bank's liquidity were already in place. It asked the NBS to inform the public regularly and urged media and analysts to check information before publishing it. The list said, without giving evidence or amounts, that people close to the outgoing government had put pressure on the bank by withdrawing large sums.
Spillover into North Macedonia
North Macedonia's Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said on Thursday that local companies had asked for help because their Serbian partners, whose funds are blocked at Alta, were facing bankruptcy. He said every creditor of Alta Banka Bitola, the Belgrade bank's subsidiary now under administration by North Macedonia's central bank, would be fully compensated if that bank fails.
Sources
- Danas — Poštanska štedionica and Deposit Insurance Agency sign payout contract (in Serbian)
- Danas — Student List calls for calm over Poštanska štedionica (in Serbian)
- N1 — Poštanska štedionica asked the NBS for enhanced supervision (in Serbian)
- Danas — Mickoski: Macedonian firms warn of partner bankruptcies over Alta (in Serbian)
- BBC News in Serbian via Danas — Karović claim, bank's denial and Student List demands (in Serbian)
This report is written by The Serbian Review from the sources listed above; facts are attributed where they could not be independently verified. Spotted an error? See our Corrections Policy.