Parliament Opens an Oversight Hearing on Alta banka as the Deposit Law Sets a Five-Year Deadline for Claiming Payouts
The amendments to the deposit law were adopted by the government on October 13, before the Alta banka crisis. The hearing has no date.
The Assembly’s Committee on Finance and Budget decided on November 2 to hold an oversight hearing on Alta banka AD Bitola. The same day committees also considered amendments to the Deposit Insurance Fund law, and Levica presented its bill on family and housing support. Here we gather what has been established for each of the three matters.
The oversight hearing. The initiator is SDSM with its coalition partners. The hearing concerns the reasons for introducing administration in Alta banka, the role and actions of the National Bank and institutional responsibility. SDSM’s original proposal contained the wording “fraud on citizens”, but VMRO-DPMNE MPs asked for it to be removed, arguing that the Assembly is not a court and that there are no court proceedings. The wording was deleted, after which VMRO-DPMNE said it would support the topic. No date is set. The committee adopted a conclusion for a coordination meeting as soon as possible, at which the schedule, duration and witnesses will be agreed. It has not been published who will be invited.
The deposit law amendments. The government adopted them on October 13, from which it follows that they are not a reaction to the revocation of the Belgrade Alta banka’s licence on October 30. They provide that depositors would have five years from the finality of the decision revoking a bank’s licence to claim a payout. Today there is no such deadline. Unclaimed funds would pass to the Deposit Protection Fund, except amounts subject to inheritance. The insurance limit does not change: up to €30,000 per person per bank.
Resolution fund. The Deposit Insurance Fund would also manage a separate fund for the resolution of banks in serious trouble. It was already envisaged in the 2023 law, and the amendments add rules on its management and its link to the deposit fund. The resolution fund would be financed by annual contributions from banks and, if needed, additional contributions. Under certain conditions, money from the Deposit Protection Fund could also be used for resolution, and the National Bank would decide on its use.
How much money is unclaimed. The explanatory note states that on December 31, 2023 about €8.27 million remained unclaimed by 226,192 depositors in failed banks and savings houses. That is an average of about €37 per depositor (our calculation), meaning the amounts are small. According to Nova Makedonija, the committee supported the amendments, and no date has been published for a plenary session.
Levica’s bill. It provides for the state to write off 20 percent of the principal of a housing loan for each child born or adopted, with a cap on support of €100,000. Levica says the proposal makes demographic policy concrete and that young people postpone starting a family because they cannot afford their own home. No budget cost or funding source is given, and the limits against abuse are not explained. According to Nova Makedonija, the committee did not support the bill at first reading.
What to follow. The date and witnesses of the oversight hearing, the plenary session on the deposit law amendments and the report of Alta banka’s administrators, which should be ready within 21 days.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · November 3, 2026
