Alta banka Bitola Is Under Administration for Up to Three Months and Citizens Can Spend 10,000 Denars a Week
The National Bank introduced administration and restrictions, the branches are closed and deposits are insured up to €30,000. What is publicly known and what is still unclear.
On November 1 the National Bank (NBRM) placed Alta banka AD Bitola under administration and restricted payments. The measure lasts at most three months from the day the decision was delivered, and Governor Trajko Slaveski expects the problem to be solved earlier, through a sale of the shares. This continues the portal’s earlier text on the licence revoked from the Belgrade bank. Below is a summary of what is publicly known for depositors.
What an individual can do. Individuals can make payments of up to 10,000 denars per calendar week (Monday to Sunday) with the bank’s cards. Shop payments count toward the limit. Payments to the bank itself, such as loan instalments, are exempt. Transfers between accounts within Alta banka Bitola are unlimited. According to Libertas, payments abroad are temporarily unavailable, while incoming SEPA payments continue.
How much 10,000 denars is. At a rate of 61.5 denars per euro that is about €162 a week, or about 43,000 denars a month (our calculation). Slaveski said the limit was set with reference to a monthly level of about 40,000 denars, roughly average salaries and pensions. The average net wage in July was 48,499 denars, so for some employees the limit is below a monthly wage.
Legal entities. Companies can make unlimited payments inside the bank but cannot transfer money out of it. According to Libertas, they cannot withdraw cash either. Payments abroad are banned unless NBRM allows them. Early withdrawal of deposits and new or extended loans are prohibited, and payment orders with a future date issued before the decision are void.
Deposits. Individuals’ deposits are insured up to €30,000 per depositor per bank. All deposits of one person at the same bank are added together. According to the governor, the bank holds a licence, high capital and liquidity, and the measures protect assets and depositors. According to the latest Bloomberg Adria data to September 30, assets are 11.27 billion denars and deposits 8.91 billion.
Branches and cards. Alta banka Bitola announced that from November 2 it temporarily closes all branches, without saying when they will work again. Cards were briefly suspended because of the large number of withdrawals and then restored at 12:00.
Who runs it. NBRM appointed three administrators from its own staff: Ilija Andovski, Vesna Stojcevska and Marija Todorovska, with equal powers. Andovski is the head of the bank. The administrators take over the functions of the supervisory and management boards and the shareholders’ assembly, except decisions on capital increases. Within 21 days they must establish the condition of the bank and submit a report to NBRM’s Executive Board.
Ownership. The Belgrade Alta banka held 95.336 percent of the shares on October 22, and the National Bank of Serbia revoked its licence on October 30. On November 1 NBRM withdrew its earlier approval for a qualifying holding. The Belgrade bank loses voting rights but remains the owner of the shares and must offer them for sale. If it does not, NBRM will carry out the sale. Slaveski said four to five parties showed interest, but that is unofficial information.
Figures from the governor. About €2 million was withdrawn before the measure, through cash and other transfers. The obligation to the Belgrade bank is about €1 million, which he described as insignificant, without giving an exact figure. Rumours about transfers from the Belgrade bank to Macedonia were not confirmed by NBRM data. That is a governor’s statement, not a published document.
What is unclear. In one headline Libertas writes that citizens without a card will be able to withdraw 20,000 denars at a counter, but that is not in the text and we did not find it in other reports, so check with the bank. It has not been published how pensions and salaries paid into Alta accounts are handled, how many clients are affected and when the branches will work again. Political statements about the bank’s links are not backed by a public document. The next public step is the administrators’ report, within 21 days at the latest.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · November 3, 2026
