Alta Banka Bankruptcy: How to Recover Your Money

On 30 October 2026, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) revoked the operating license of Alta Banka a.d. Beograd, following supervisory measures and a previously imposed interim measure. At the same time, the NBS found that the conditions for opening bankruptcy proceedings were met, and management of the bank was transferred to the Deposit Insurance Agency, which has been appointed bankruptcy administrator by the Commercial Court in Belgrade.

For the bank’s clients — individuals, entrepreneurs and companies — the license revocation means that accounts with the bank are frozen. Funds are recovered through two mechanisms regulated by law: the payout of insured deposits and the filing of creditor claims in the bankruptcy proceedings. Below we explain both routes, the deadlines and the steps to take immediately.

Is my money insured and up to what amount?

Deposits with Alta Banka are insured up to EUR 50,000 per depositor under the Serbian Deposit Insurance Act. The payout of the insured amount is available to natural persons, entrepreneurs, and micro, small and medium-sized legal entities — regardless of the currency or type of account.

Note that the EUR 50,000 limit applies to the total of all deposits held by one depositor with the bank, not to each individual account. A depositor who held, for example, EUR 80,000 with Alta Banka collects EUR 50,000 through the deposit insurance scheme, while the remaining EUR 30,000 must be claimed in the bankruptcy proceedings (see below).

Dinar deposits are paid out in dinars and foreign-currency deposits in euros, at the official middle exchange rate of the euro against the deposit currency applicable on the day the bankruptcy proceedings were opened. Large legal entities are not covered by the deposit insurance scheme — they recover their funds exclusively by filing claims in the bankruptcy proceedings.

How and when are insured deposits paid out?

On 3 November 2026, the Commercial Court in Belgrade opened bankruptcy proceedings against Alta Banka, formally appointing the Deposit Insurance Agency as bankruptcy administrator. Banka Poštanska štedionica has been selected as the paying bank for insured deposits.

Clients of Alta Banka should know the following:

• The payout of insured amounts begins no later than seven business days after the opening of the bankruptcy proceedings.
• By 6 November 2026, the Agency will publish on its website www.aod.rs the exact payout start date and the list of Poštanska štedionica branches where payouts will be made.
• As a rule, an ID card is sufficient for natural persons, while entrepreneurs and legal entities need proof of authority to represent; there is no need to rush — insured amounts can be collected within three years.
• The Deposit Insurance Fund has sufficient funds to pay out all insured depositors of Alta Banka.

Be alert to fraud: calls or messages requesting account details, PINs or “verification” in order to release a payout are scams. Official information is published exclusively by the Deposit Insurance Agency and the National Bank of Serbia.

What if I hold more than EUR 50,000?

Amounts above EUR 50,000 are not automatically lost, but they are not covered by deposit insurance — they must be claimed in the bankruptcy proceedings under the Act on Bankruptcy and Liquidation of Banks and Insurance Companies.

How the process works:

1. In its decision opening the bankruptcy, the Commercial Court sets a deadline for filing claims, which may not be shorter than 30 or longer than 90 days from publication of the bankruptcy notice in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia. The deadline is strict — a late filing can mean losing the ability to recover in the bankruptcy.
2. The claim must state the legal basis, the principal and accrued interest, supporting evidence (agreements, account statements, balance confirmations), any security held, and the account for payment.
3. The Deposit Insurance Agency, acting as bankruptcy administrator, determines the validity and amount of filed claims within six months of the filing deadline, after which an examination hearing is held and the final list of claims is drawn up.
4. A contested claim is not the end of the road — the creditor is referred to litigation to establish the claim, subject to statutory deadlines for filing the lawsuit.

The priority ranking works in depositors’ favour: depositor claims remaining after payout of the insured amounts rank first among the bank’s creditors, ahead of public revenues and other creditors, while the bank’s shareholders rank last. How much creditors ultimately recover depends on the bankruptcy estate, but priority ranking and a complete, timely filing are decisive.

What about loans and obligations owed to Alta Banka?

The bank’s bankruptcy does not extinguish the obligations of its debtors. Loans, credit cards and overdrafts must still be repaid — the bank’s receivables form part of the bankruptcy estate and are collected by the bankruptcy administrator. The National Bank of Serbia has announced that debtors will receive clear instructions on how to settle their obligations following the opening of the bankruptcy; until then, keep evidence of all payments made.

A separate issue is the position of clients who are both depositors and debtors of the bank (e.g. a deposit and a loan with the same bank). Whether mutual claims can be set off in a bank bankruptcy depends on when the statutory conditions were met and requires careful legal analysis — the wrong approach can mean waiting for your deposit in the bankruptcy while repaying your loan in full. This is precisely the situation where legal advice pays off most.

What should companies and entrepreneurs with Alta Banka accounts do?

For businesses the consequences are immediate — payment operations through Alta Banka have stopped. Steps to take right away:

1. Open or activate an account with another bank and redirect payment operations: salaries, taxes and contributions, customer payments.
2. Notify debtors and business partners in writing of the new account, so that incoming payments do not land on a frozen account in bankruptcy.
3. Review standing orders, direct debits and contractual clauses tied to the Alta Banka account (escrow, special-purpose accounts, security instruments, letters of credit, guarantees issued by the bank).
4. Establish the exact account balance as of the date the license was revoked — statements and confirmations will serve as evidence for the insured-deposit payout request or the creditor claim.
5. Micro, small and medium-sized legal entities and entrepreneurs collect the insured amount of up to EUR 50,000 through Poštanska štedionica; everything above that amount, as well as the entire claims of large legal entities, is recovered exclusively by filing a claim in the bankruptcy proceedings, within the court-set deadlines.

Guarantees and other instruments issued by Alta Banka in favour of your business partners are a problem of their own: their enforceability is now in question, so contracts where the bank acted as guarantor should be urgently reviewed and replacement instruments arranged.

How can IVVK Lawyers help?

IVVK Lawyers represents depositors and creditors in bank bankruptcy proceedings. Our banking & finance and dispute resolution teams provide support at every stage:

• preparing and filing creditor claims, with complete documentation and interest calculations,
• representation at the examination hearing and in litigation over contested claims,
• set-off analysis for clients who are both depositors and debtors of the bank,
• advising companies on replacement security instruments and contractual risks arising from the bank’s bankruptcy.

Contact us at office@ivvk.rs — our offices are located in Belgrade, Maršala Birjuzova 50.

This text is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on a specific matter, please consult a lawyer.