Serbia's central bank has revoked the operating licence of Alta Bank, owned by businessman Davor Macura, after a sharp deterioration in its financial position, triggering bankruptcy proceedings and an investigation into alleged transfers of large sums of money abroad.

The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) announced early on October 31 that its executive board had withdrawn the bank's licence, saying its financial condition had deteriorated significantly and posed a risk to depositors.

The decision came six days after a parliamentary election in which the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) lost power after 14 years, and amid allegations that large sums of money had been moved abroad through the bank.

A court will appoint Serbia's Deposit Insurance Agency as bankruptcy administrator. Depositors will be able to recover insured savings of up to €50,000 per person within seven working days, the central bank said.

The collapse has raised questions about the future of Macura's wider business empire, which has expanded rapidly in recent years into banking, property, construction and retail.

Macura, who began his business career running a currency exchange office in Belgrade, has been described in Serbian media as close to the SNS.

The controversy surrounding Alta Bank came to public attention earlier in the week when Democratic Party leader Srdjan Milivojevic alleged that the bank had sought permission to convert a large amount of cash in Serbian dinars into euros and transfer €50mn to an account at a foreign correspondent bank.

Serbia's Public Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime has opened an investigation into possible transfers of funds abroad. It has requested information from the NBS on the bank's foreign transactions and asked the interior ministry and police's organised crime unit to investigate its operations.

The central bank said it had imposed supervisory measures intended to improve Alta Bank's liquidity before withdrawing its licence. It did not disclose the scale of the bank's financial problems or provide details of the alleged transfers.

In a separate statement, the NBS said proceedings had been initiated against the bank, its shareholders, management bodies and other responsible individuals.

The last time Serbia revoked a bank's operating licence was in January 2014, when it closed Universal Bank amid a wider crisis in the country's banking sector.

Rapid expansion

Alta Bank was acquired by Macura's Alta Group in 2019, when it bought state-owned Jubmes Bank for around €5mn and subsequently renamed it.

Over the following years, the lender became one of Serbia's fastest-growing banks, with assets increasing by 44.6% in 2023, 52.28% in 2024 and almost 60% in 2025, reaching €1.65bn at the end of last year.

It handled payments for several major public services, including electricity bills in Belgrade and parking in the capital's garages. It also provided payment services through the state-owned electricity company Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS).

EPS has since announced a new bank account for electricity payments in Belgrade, while payments through its online customer application, which was serviced by Alta Bank, have been suspended.

Macura's business interests have extended beyond banking. In September, his company Alta Retail announced an agreement to acquire five businesses from Croatia's Fortenova Group, including the Idea, Mercator and Roda supermarket chains, as well as fruit distributor Ena Fruit, loyalty programme Super Card and technology company mStart Solutions.

The collapse of Alta Bank does not automatically place the group's other companies into bankruptcy, but raises questions about the financing and completion of its planned acquisitions.

Another deal which will be affected is the planned acquisition of Addiko Bank's operations in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro by Alta Group.

Alta Group had agreed to acquire the subsidiaries as part of a wider transaction involving Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), which launched a takeover bid for Addiko in competition with Slovenia's NLB.

Alta, which held a 9.63% stake in Addiko, tendered its shares into RBI's offer, helping the Austrian lender secure the 56.16% acceptance needed to proceed with the takeover. The acquisition and the planned sale of the regional subsidiaries had yet to be completed.

Alta Group also operates a separately licensed bank in North Macedonia. The country's central bank said that the closure of its Serbian counterpart did not automatically affect the legal status of Alta Banka AD Bitola, which is a separate legal entity regulated under North Macedonian law.

The bank in Bitola said it remained liquid, with its branches and ATMs operating normally and customers retaining access to their deposits.

Previous scrutiny

Macura's business activities have attracted regulatory and political scrutiny before.

In 2024, the European Central Bank suspended voting rights associated with Alta Pay's attempted expansion into Austria, citing concerns over compliance with procedures, transparency regarding the origin of capital and disclosure of control over shares in Addiko Bank.

His companies have also been involved in controversial property transactions, including the acquisition of land belonging to the former Motor and Tractor Industry in New Belgrade.

Macura was among four Serbian businessmen named in a letter sent by Republican Congressman Joe Wilson to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on October 14, requesting sanctions against them. The letter accused the businessmen of using public resources for personal enrichment and called for restrictions on their access to the US financial system.