Living in the Alta State

In recent days, considerable public attention has been drawn to the news that the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) has revoked Alta Bank’s operating licence, explaining that “the bank’s financial condition has deteriorated significantly and there is a possibility of further deterioration in its liquidity, thereby putting depositors’ interests at risk.”

How did the very same Alta Bank which had reported very strong business performance indicators just four months earlier, in June 2026, end up losing its operating licence?

Were its financial statements, which, in terms of the risks associated with its operations, showed capital levels twice as high as the statutory minimum requirement, accurate or doctored? Were its loans recoverable? Were these matters being properly monitored? Did the NBS know anything about them beforehand, and if so, did it take any action?

Or is there clear reason to suspect that this catastrophic situation was actually the result of a negligent failure by NBS management, and above all by its most responsible official, the Governor, to exercise due diligence and respond in a timely manner? Or perhaps, quite possibly, something much worse than mere negligence.

The announcement that the NBS had revoked Alta Bank’s operating licence inevitably brings to mind another announcement, dating back to last year – a warning about Alta Bank’s unusual business practices and its special relationship with the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). In that statement, issued by the Students in Blockade in July 2025, after the state-owned power company EPS informed consumers that electricity bills would henceforth be paid into Alta Bank’s account rather than the Treasury account previously used, the students described this “cooperation” in unequivocal terms: “This is systemic plunder! EPS is a public enterprise. The money it collects is public money, and it must not hand over millions to a private bank without explanation or accountability.”

They rightly warned that EPS was thereby introducing an additional fee that citizens would have to pay with their electricity bills, and that public funds were being channelled, under the pretext o “modernisation”, into the private pockets of businesspeople close to the SNS, or, indirectly or directly, into the party itself. They also published a list of exclusive privileges granted to Alta Bank and the Alta Group in the preceding period, as well as contracts and business arrangements awarded to them by the authorities without public tenders or competition. They called on citizens, trade unions, associations and the professional community to demand that the relevant authorities investigate the background of this arrangement and all other suspicious business deals.

It is well known that the authorities did nothing.

It is highly indicative that, following SNS’s crushing defeat in the elections, immediately after October 25th, there was a withdrawal of funds from Alta Bank, transfers to foreign banks, and cash withdrawals of enormous sums. This inevitably led to the bank having its operating licence revoked on October 30th.

On this occasion, too, the student movement once again called for a thorough investigation into Alta Bank’s business activities over the years and an examination of accountability of the National Bank of Serbia. The Governor, who has been and still is one of SNS’s most senior officials, albeit in a “frozen” capacity, made no public statement. However, as many as four NBS Vice-Governors called on the competent prosecutor’s office to investigate the relevant circumstances, including possible “accountability within the NBS”.

Naturally, even without this, the need to review this case is evident. After all, it is just one in a long series of similar cases involving cooperation between the SNS authorities and “businesspeople” who, in a very short period of time, amassed enormous fortunes for themselves, the party, and god knows who else.

Investigating this case must be a priority for the new government. And the essential message conveyed last year by the student movement remains as relevant as ever: “We do not want to live in the Alta State.” And we must never allow that to happen again.

Translated by Marijana Simić

Peščanik.net, 04.11.2026.