Bank bankruptcy procedure and timeline
- Done1. The National Bank revoked the licence30.10.2026NBS, 30.10.2026
- Done2. The court opened bankruptcy03.11.2026AOD, 03.11.2026
- Done3. AOD named the paying bank, Poštanska štedionica; contract signed03.11.2026, contract 05.11.2026Poštanska, 05.11.2026
- We are here4. Payout of up to €50,000 at Poštanskafrom 13.11.2026, apply by 03.11.2029 (AOD notice of 06.11)
- We are here5. Filing the claim above €50,000: the period runs in parallel with the payoutnotice published on 06.11.2026 (Official Gazette No. 109); 90 days — until 04.02.2027 · text of the notice (copy) · issue No. 109 of 06.11.2026
- Ahead6. Claims review and the court's final listWhat starts it: The end of the claim filing period.
- Ahead7. Payouts above the limitWhat starts it: The final list of claims; payments follow the sale of the bank’s assets.
Two processes are running at once: from 13.11.2026 Poštanska pays out up to €50,000 (apply by 03.11.2029); the claim for the amount above €50,000 is due by 04.02.2027 (where this deadline comes from).
How we got here. On 03.11.2026 the Commercial Court in Belgrade opened bankruptcy. The administrator is AOD, the paying bank is Banka Poštanska štedionica (AOD). On 05.11 Poštanska and AOD signed the payout contract (Poštanska, 05.11.2026). On 06.11 AOD announced that the payout of up to €50,000 starts on 13.11.2026 at the Poštanska branches designated for ALTA depositors; the deadline to apply is 03.11.2029 (AOD notice, 06.11.2026). AOD published the branch list on 06.11 (PDF). You can collect the money within three years.
How it was announced on 31.10.2026, before the court decision
The key point: AOD will start paying insured deposits of up to €50,000 no later than 7 working days after the court decides to open bankruptcy. (Our calculation: the court decided on 03.11.2026, so for ALTA by 13.11.2026.) This is what AOD and the National Bank announced on 31.10.2026: the bank goes into bankruptcy, AOD itself pays insured deposits through a paying bank, and anything above that is filed as a claim in the bankruptcy. Nobody has announced a transfer of all deposits to another bank, as happened with Poštanska štedionica in 2012–2018.
“AOD will start paying out insured amounts to depositors of Alta banka no later than seven working days after the decision of the Commercial Court in Belgrade opening bankruptcy.” — AOD, 31.10.2026.
“Depositors of this bank will be notified in good time and as soon as possible at which bank they can withdraw their deposits up to the insured amount of EUR 50,000, as well as how to file their other claims and how they will be paid.” — National Bank of Serbia, 31.10.2026.
Original in Serbian
«Агенција за осигурање депозита започеће исплату осигураних износа депонентима Алта банке а.д. Београд најкасније седам радних дана од доношења решења Привредног суда у Београду о отварању стечајног поступка над банком» — AOD, 31.10.2026.
«Štediše ove banke biće blagovremeno, u što kraćem roku, obaveštene o tome kod koje banke će moći da podignu svoje depozite do osiguranog iznosa od 50.000 evra, kao i o načinu prijave ostalih svojih potraživanja i njihovoj isplati» — Narodna banka Srbije, 31.10.2026.
The deadlines below come from the laws. Alongside them, for comparison: Univerzal banka (2014), the only case in 2012–2018 where deposits were not transferred to another bank and AOD paid out only the insured part. Court deadlines, the size of the bankruptcy estate (what the bank has left to sell) and the final percentages at ALTA may differ. More on the page Past cases.
1. The National Bank revokes the licence
Section titled “1. The National Bank revokes the licence”ALTA: 30.10.2026. Univerzal: 31.01.2014.
2. The court opened bankruptcy
Section titled “2. The court opened bankruptcy”By law the court opens bankruptcy no later than the next working day after it receives the National Bank’s decision (art. 6); AOD becomes the bankruptcy administrator (art. 8 para. 2). For ALTA the Commercial Court in Belgrade decided on 03.11.2026. The case number is 10 St 275/2026, confirmed by the APR decision of 03.11.2026 entering the bankruptcy in the register (how to check). The legal effects of bankruptcy start on the day the notice is posted on the court’s notice board (art. 9).
At Univerzal: 3 days later, on Monday 03.02.2014.
How to check the case at the court yourself
Case number: 10 St 275/2026 (on the portal you enter Ст / 275 / 2026). Confirmation: the decision of the Business Registers Agency (APR) of 03.11.2026 entering the opening of ALTA’s bankruptcy in the register; it cites the court decision opening bankruptcy “Посл.бр. 10 Ст. 275/2026 од 03.11.2026”.
How to check in the APR register. Open the APR search (“Oбjедињена претрага”), press “Матични број” (registration number), type 07074433 and press Enter. The result is “ALTA BANKA AD BEOGRAD - U STEČAJU”, status “У стечају” (in bankruptcy). Click the name: under “Законски заступници” (legal representatives) you see “РС - Агенција за осигурање депозита”, function “стечајни управник” (bankruptcy administrator); under “Одлуке регистратора” for 2026 there is the APR decision of 03.11.2026 (БДСЛ 18465/2026).
How to follow the case on the courts portal:
- Open the portal “Ток предмета привредних судова” (Tok predmeta privrednih sudova, commercial court case progress). At the top left you can switch “Ћирилица | Latinica”.
- “Суд” (Sud, court) → БЕОГРАД.
- “Уписник” (Upisnik, case register) → Ст (St, bankruptcy).
- “Број предмета” (Broj predmeta, case number) → 275.
- “Година” (Godina, year) → 2026, then click another field, otherwise the year is reset.
- Below the fields there is a picture with a sum, e.g. “389 + 96”: add it up and type the answer in the box under the picture.
- Press “Претрага” (Pretraga, search).
What the portal shows for this number: “Број предмета: Ст 275/2026”, “Датум пријема: 02/11/2026” (date received), “Основ спора: ПРЕДЛОГ ЗА ПОКРЕТАЊЕ СТЕЧАЈНОГ ПОСТУПКА” (petition to open bankruptcy). In the “Радња” table (court actions):
- 02/11/2026 — “Дана 02/11/2026 примљен је предмет Ст-275/2026”: case Ст-275/2026 was received by the court on 02.11.2026.
- 03/11/2026 — “РЕШЕЊЕ О ПОКРЕТАЊУ СТЕЧАЈНОГ ПОСТУПКА (ОТВАРАЊУ) … датум експедовања: 03/11/2026”: decision opening bankruptcy, issued and sent on 03.11.2026 (“датум експедовања” is the date the document was sent).
- 03/11/2026 — “ДОПИС-ОСТАЛО … ОГЛАС О ОТВАРАЊУ СТЕЧАЈНОГ ПОСТУПКА”: other correspondence, the notice of the opening of bankruptcy, sent on 03.11.2026. The notice was published in the Official Gazette No. 109 of 06.11.2026. Claim for the amount above €50,000 — by 4 February 2027. Where this deadline comes from →
“Статус: НИЈЕ РЕШЕН” (not resolved) means the case is still running, not that the court has decided nothing. New court steps will appear in the same table.
The decision itself, naming the bank, is posted on the court’s electronic notice board (section “Rešenje o pokretanju stečajnog postupka (otvaranju)”, “Preuzmite” in the case row) and published in the Official Gazette (Službeni glasnik).
3. AOD named the paying bank
Section titled “3. AOD named the paying bank”For ALTA: 03.11.2026, the bank is Poštanska štedionica. By law, no later than 3 working days after the court decision (Law on Deposit Insurance, art. 16 para. 8).
At Univerzal: announced the same day as the court decision; the paying bank was Poštanska štedionica (AOD announcement).
4. Payout up to €50,000: we are here
Section titled “4. Payout up to €50,000: we are here”No later than 7 working days after the court decision; for ALTA by 13.11.2026 (11.11 is a public holiday, Law on State and Other Holidays, arts. 1a and 3). For ALTA, Poštanska signed the contract with AOD on 05.11; on 06.11 AOD announced that the payout starts on 13.11.2026, deadline to apply 03.11.2029 (AOD notice). You can collect it within 3 years (art. 16 paras. 8 and 9).
AOD has confirmed in writing: an individual and the same person as a sole trader each get their own €50,000 limit; transfers go only to an account at a bank in Serbia, and sole traders are paid by transfer only. Details and screenshots of the letters: AOD’s written answers.
At Univerzal: from the day after the court decision, 04.02.2014, at the branches of the paying bank, Poštanska štedionica, on the depositor’s application (this is not the claim from step 5).
5. Claim for the amount above €50,000
Section titled “5. Claim for the amount above €50,000”Claim for the amount above €50,000 — by 4 February 2027. Where this deadline comes from → The claim is filed in writing (Law on Bankruptcy, art. 111). File without waiting for the insurance payout. Details are on the page Claim above €50,000.
At Univerzal: the court gave 60 days (notice in the Official Gazette; the same Gazette page has notices naming private persons, so we do not keep a copy and the link goes to the web archive).
6. AOD verifies the claims, the court approves the list
Section titled “6. AOD verifies the claims, the court approves the list”AOD verifies claims for up to 6 months after the filing deadline ends; then, within 60 days at the latest, the court holds a hearing and draws up the final list (art. 17 paras. 1 and 2). How much the bank owes depositors above the limit should become clear about 8 to 12 months after bankruptcy is opened.
Within 60 days of the opening AOD takes an inventory of the assets and draws up the opening balance, then publishes a quarterly report on aod.rs (art. 16). The creditors’ committee has 5 members (exceptionally more, on a reasoned proposal by AOD), chosen by the judge on AOD’s proposal, taking claim sizes into account (art. 8); a bank bankruptcy has no creditors’ assembly (art. 22).
Before any rank is paid, the bank’s assets cover the costs of the procedure, unpaid wages and the insurance AOD paid out, which counts as a procedure cost (art. 19 para. 1 item 6).
Deadlines from the court decision on ALTA (10 St 275/2026 of 03.11.2026, published on the court notice board):
| What | Deadline | Item |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory of assets and opening balance (AOD) | 60 days from the legal effect of opening bankruptcy | III |
| Filing claims (secured and unsecured) with the court | 90 days from publication of the notice in the Official Gazette | IV |
| Verification of claims (AOD) | 6 months from the end of the filing period | VI |
| Examination hearing (ispitno ročište) | no later than 60 days after that period | VII |
AOD’s forms page gives the same 90 days. Claim for the amount above €50,000 — by 4 February 2027. Where this deadline comes from →
7. Payouts above €50,000
Section titled “7. Payouts above €50,000”The law sets no deadline: money is paid as the bank’s assets are sold. Individuals, sole traders, micro, small and medium-sized companies rank first (art. 20 item 1) and are paid in proportion to their claims (Law on Bankruptcy, art. 54 para. 3).
How it went at Univerzal: rank I received about 96.5% of recognised claims after 6 years 7 months to 7 years 4 months, with no interest for the years of waiting; the case is still open, almost 13 years on. Details and primary sources are on the Past cases page.