After a bank fails, people tend to go wrong in two opposite ways. Some assume everything is lost. Others expect to get their money back at the first counter, with no procedure at all. The truth lies somewhere in between, and exactly where depends on who you are, how much money you hold at the bank and whether you also owe the bank money.
On 31 October 2026 the Executive Board of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) revoked the operating licence of Alta banka a.d. Beograd (in Serbian), and on 3 November 2026 the Commercial Court in Belgrade opened bankruptcy proceedings and appointed the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) as bankruptcy trustee. Alta banka has suspended payment operations and card services, and its branches are closed.
The insured amount is EUR 50,000 per depositor per bank, regardless of the number of accounts. For most individuals that is the whole answer. For companies, borrowers and anyone holding more than that amount, the answer is more complicated, and this article deals with it.
We explain what is insured, how the rest of a claim is filed in the bankruptcy, what applies to loans, safe deposit boxes and securities, and what companies should do in the first days. Throughout the text we follow two fictional examples: Marko Ilić, an individual, and Ana Kovačević, who owns a small agency. The names and amounts are invented, while the rules are real.
EUR 50,000
The insured amount of deposits per depositor per bank, regardless of the number of accounts (DIA, information brochure “Insured deposits up to EUR 50,000” (in Serbian)).
What happened: the revocation of Alta banka’s operating licence and the opening of bankruptcy
In brief:
The revocation was preceded by an interim measure. The NBS stated that the bank’s financial condition had deteriorated significantly and that depositors’ interests were at risk (NBS statement (in Serbian)). Management of the bank passed to the DIA.
The legal mechanism is short. When it revokes a bank’s licence, the NBS at the same time issues a decision that the conditions for bankruptcy are met, the court must open bankruptcy no later than the next working day after receiving that decision, and the DIA acts as bankruptcy trustee (Articles 4, 6 and 8 of the Law on Bankruptcy and Liquidation of Banks and Insurance Companies).1 The legal effects of the bankruptcy begin on the day the notice is posted on the court’s notice board (Article 9).
The NBS also said that appropriate proceedings have been initiated against the bank, its shareholders and its management bodies. What a client can plan for at this point are the deadlines and the order of payment, covered below.
The deadlines that follow, in one place:
| Stage | Deadline | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Licence revoked; NBS decision that the conditions for bankruptcy are met | 31 October 2026 | The bank no longer operates; the DIA takes over management. |
| Commercial Court in Belgrade opens bankruptcy | 3 November 2026 | The DIA is bankruptcy trustee; statutory deadlines start to run. |
| DIA notice on the start of payouts and branches | By 6 November 2026 at the latest | Within three working days of the court decision, a notice on how and when payouts start will be published. |
| Start of payout of insured amounts | Within the next seven working days from 6 November 2026 | Payout through Banka Poštanska štedionica. |
| Collecting the insured amount | Three years | Period in which the insured amount can be collected. |
| Filing of claims | 30 to 90 days from the notice in the Official Gazette | The court sets the deadline in the decision opening bankruptcy. |
| Examination of claims | Up to six months after the filing deadline; hearing no later than 60 days after that | The DIA determines whether claims are valid, and claims are admitted or disputed. |
| Settlement | As assets are liquidated | According to the statutory payment ranks. |
The bank is closed, the DIA manages its assets, and money comes back in two stages: first the insured amount, then the rest from the bankruptcy estate.
Is money in Alta banka insured, and up to what amount?
In brief:
The EUR 50,000 limit applies to the total balance of all insured deposits of one depositor at that bank on the day bankruptcy is opened, increased by accrued interest, not to each account separately (DIA (in Serbian)). A savings deposit, a current account and a foreign currency account are added together.
Marko Ilić has a savings deposit of EUR 40,000 and a dinar current account with a euro equivalent of EUR 15,000. That is EUR 55,000 in total. The DIA pays him EUR 50,000, in proportion to the currency structure of his deposits, so he receives part in euros and part in dinars. For the remaining EUR 5,000 (without interest, for clarity) he files a claim in the bankruptcy.
| Depositor | Insured up to EUR 50,000 | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals | Yes | Residents and non-residents. |
| Sole proprietors | Yes | Residents. |
| Micro, small and medium-sized legal entities | Yes | Residents. |
| Large legal entities | No | The claim can be pursued only in the bankruptcy. |
| State bodies and local self-government bodies | No | Excluded by law. |
| Persons connected with the bank | No | Excluded by law. |
| Bearer and code-word deposits | No | Excluded by law. |
The uncomfortable part of this table concerns foreign investors. According to the DIA brochure, sole proprietors and legal entities must be residents. A company incorporated in Serbia is a resident even when foreign-owned, but a legal entity incorporated abroad that holds an account at Alta banka should check whether it falls within the protected group before assuming anything.
Each depositor has its own limit. Ana’s agency is a separate legal entity with EUR 120,000 in a foreign currency account, so it has its own EUR 50,000, regardless of what Ana personally holds at the bank.
The DIA’s Management Board selected Banka Poštanska štedionica as the payout bank. According to the Agency’s statement, the DIA will publish the start date of payouts and the list of branches by 6 November 2026 at the latest, payouts must start within seven working days, and the insured amount can be collected within three years. Dinar deposits are paid out in dinars and foreign currency deposits in euros. Funds in other currencies, for example US dollars or Swiss francs, are converted into euros at the rate on the day bankruptcy is opened. Anyone who disagrees with the calculation can ask the DIA in writing to review it (Law on Deposit Insurance).2 We can check the calculation and prepare that request for you, and the first step is to contact us.
Deposit insurance works like comprehensive car insurance (casco). When the insurer pays out a loss, it takes over your right against the party at fault. The DIA pays the insured amount and takes over your claim up to that amount, so in the bankruptcy you remain a creditor only for the difference.
Up to EUR 50,000 per depositor, the DIA returns the money, within a few working days. Anything above that goes another way.
What if I have more than EUR 50,000: filing a claim in the bankruptcy
In brief:
Ana Kovačević runs an agency whose company has EUR 120,000 in a foreign currency account at Alta banka. The DIA will pay the company EUR 50,000. The remaining EUR 70,000 the company must file itself as a claim in the bankruptcy before the Commercial Court in Belgrade, because that amount is not paid out automatically. We can prepare the filing and take on representation in the bankruptcy proceedings, including the examination hearing before the Commercial Court in Belgrade, on your behalf.
The court sets the filing deadline in the decision opening bankruptcy, and it cannot be shorter than 30 or longer than 90 days from publication of the notice in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia (Article 7). Missing the deadline can seriously complicate recovery, so do not leave it to the last day.
The law sets no deadline by which the bankruptcy must be concluded. It sets deadlines for determining claims, but recovery depends on how much of the bank’s assets is liquidated and how quickly, so proceedings against banks can last a long time. Up to EUR 50,000: payout soon. Above that: filing a claim, following the proceedings and patience.
Do I still have to repay my loan at Alta banka after the bankruptcy?
In brief:
In its statement (in Serbian) the NBS said that the bankruptcy in no way releases the bank’s debtors from their obligations and that debtors can expect clear instructions on how to settle their obligations once bankruptcy proceedings are opened. The instruction that arrives from the DIA is therefore the one that counts, not one’s own interpretation that instalments no longer fall due.
In practice, this means the following:
Do not stop repaying on your own initiative; wait for the instruction on which account to pay into.
If an instalment falls due and payment is not possible, keep proof that you tried: a statement, a message from the bank, a confirmation of a rejected order.
Keep a record of every instalment that falls due.
If the trustee’s instruction is unclear or the amount of the debt is disputed, our banking and finance lawyers can review the instruction and your obligations before you act.
The debt remains, and the way it is paid will be set by the trustee’s instruction.
What about safe deposit boxes, securities and cards at Alta banka?
In brief:
A safe deposit box is like a garage space you rent: if the garage owner goes bankrupt, the car in the garage is still yours. The contents of a box are not the bank’s property, so they do not enter the bankruptcy estate. The Law on Bankruptcy recognises the right of separation: whoever proves that an item is not the property of the bankruptcy debtor can ask for it to be separated from the estate.
The problem is timing. How and when boxes are opened is determined by the bankruptcy trustee, so information should be followed through the DIA.
For securities accounts, the law provides that the DIA pays the insured amounts of claims of clients of a bank that is a member of the Investor Protection Fund, up to the insured claim. The DIA also announced that within three working days of the court decision it will publish a call for small investors to file requests for payment of protected claims, with a stated deadline.
Payment cards and payment orders that were in processing when payments were suspended are a separate problem. Keep statements, payment order confirmations and messages from the bank, because you will need them to show that the money left your account but did not reach the recipient.
Bank guarantees and letters of credit should be checked specifically. If a guarantee issued by Alta banka secures your obligations, for example under a lease or in public procurement, the beneficiary may ask for it to be replaced with another. If you are the beneficiary of such a guarantee, check its terms and deadlines, because the rights under it can be exercised only within the bankruptcy proceedings.
We can prepare a request for separation, and check a guarantee and the deadlines for enforcing it, on your behalf, and the first step is to contact us.
Money at the bank is protected by insurance. Items the bank only held for you are still yours, but you have to claim them yourself.
Can payments and transfers made just before the bankruptcy be challenged?
In brief:
The rule protects equal treatment of creditors (Article 14 of the Law on Bankruptcy and Liquidation of Banks and Insurance Companies). If someone received a payment or transfer just before the bankruptcy that other creditors did not, that transaction can be annulled, and the recipient may have to return what was received. Companies that moved larger sums out of the bank in recent months should keep complete documentation of those transactions.
The rule also works the other way. If in the last months before the bankruptcy you received an unusually quick payment, for example an early repayment of a deposit or a debt, check how the law views it before you use the money.
Our dispute resolution lawyers can assess whether a particular payment or transfer can be challenged and conduct such a dispute.
The Agency must, within 60 days, draw up an inventory of assets and an opening bankruptcy balance sheet, including an overview of significant transactions from the last six months before the bankruptcy, and publish a quarterly report on the state of the bankruptcy estate on its website (Article 16). That is the most reliable public source for anyone who wants to see what happened to the bank’s assets.
A payment made just before the bankruptcy is not protected merely because it has already been made.
Foreign nationals and foreign-owned companies: what is different
In brief:
Individuals are insured both as residents and as non-residents. For sole proprietors and legal entities, residence is a requirement, so a foreign company that is not registered in Serbia should assume that its deposit is not insured and pursue it as a claim in the bankruptcy.
Notices in the bankruptcy are published in Serbian, on the court’s notice board, in the Official Gazette and on the DIA website. Deadlines run from publication, not from the moment someone learns of it. Those most exposed are depositors who are abroad and do not follow sources in Serbian.
Anyone who has left Serbia can act through an attorney, both to collect the insured amount, under the conditions the DIA publishes, and to file a claim. A power of attorney executed abroad usually must carry an apostille or legalisation and a certified translation into Serbian, and the same applies to evidence in a foreign language. This is not done overnight, so preparation should start right away. Acting under a power of attorney lets you conduct the whole procedure without coming to Serbia, and our immigration lawyers can prepare the powers of attorney as well.
When opening an account at another bank, foreign nationals and foreign-owned companies can expect enhanced client checks. Documentation on the ownership structure, the origin of funds and the activity, prepared in advance, shortens the process. Help in opening an account is provided by our banking and finance lawyers. If your residence permit or work permit depends on employment at a Serbian company, an interruption in salary payments should be resolved quickly.
The rules are the same as for everyone, but a foreign depositor has less time and more paperwork, so must start earlier.
Frequently asked questions
Has Alta banka lost its licence, and has the bank failed?
Yes, the National Bank of Serbia revoked Alta banka’s operating licence, which is the official term for losing a licence, and bankruptcy has been opened over the bank. That does not mean your money has disappeared. Deposits up to EUR 50,000 per depositor are insured, and the rest is claimed in the bankruptcy proceedings, as explained in the DIA brochure on deposit insurance (in Serbian).
When will deposits from Alta banka be paid out?
Payouts must start within seven working days of the court decision opening bankruptcy, which was issued on 3 November 2026. The DIA announced that it will publish the start date and the list of Banka Poštanska štedionica branches by 6 November 2026. The period for collecting the insured amount is three years. Current information is published by the DIA.
Will I lose money above EUR 50,000?
Not necessarily, but you will not receive it right away. You claim the amount above the insured amount by filing a claim in the bankruptcy proceedings. Neither the timing nor the amount of recovery can be guaranteed in advance.
Do I have to repay my loan at Alta banka?
Yes. The bank’s bankruptcy does not release debtors from their obligations, and the NBS announced that debtors will receive instructions on how to settle them after bankruptcy is opened. Until then, do not stop repayment on your own initiative, and keep proof of every attempted payment.
Are company deposits insured?
It depends on the size of the company and where it is registered. Micro, small and medium-sized legal entities are insured up to EUR 50,000, while large ones are not. Legal entities must be residents, so a foreign company not registered in Serbia is probably not insured. A large company can pursue its claim only in the bankruptcy.
Are foreign nationals insured at Alta banka?
Yes, as individuals. Both residents and non-residents are insured, regardless of citizenship. The same EUR 50,000 limit applies as for Serbian citizens, and payout is made, as for everyone else, in dinars or euros.
I am no longer in Serbia. Can someone act on my behalf?
As a rule, yes, through a duly authorised attorney. A power of attorney executed abroad usually must carry an apostille or legalisation and a certified translation into Serbian, so it should be obtained in good time.
Can I collect the contents of my safe deposit box at Alta banka?
A safe deposit box is not a deposit and is not part of the insured amount, but the items in it remain yours. The trustee determines how access is arranged, so information should be followed closely. If access is not granted, separation from the bankruptcy estate can be requested.
Reviewed by: Marija Medić Racić, Senior Associate · View profile
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