North Macedonia: over 5,000 social aid recipients to withdraw Alta Bank funds at counters

Over 5,000 social assistance recipients in North Macedonia will be able to access their Alta Bank accounts first and withdraw the full amount at bank counters, Minister of Social Policy and Demography Gjoko Velkovski said. Authorities said efforts had been launched so that payments could be made in full at bank counters from tomorrow.

Three counters will first open in Bitola, with Skopje and Strumica to follow. The National Bank of North Macedonia (NBRM) took temporary control of Alta Bank over the weekend and said there was interest from domestic and foreign financial institutions in buying the lender.

Temporary management was imposed on 1 November, after Serbia's central bank revoked the operating licence of Belgrade-based Alta Bank AD. In Serbia, three people, including the owner and Alta Bank Bitola board chairman Davor Macura, were arrested. Suspicion is that Macura gained unlawful benefits exceeding 380 million euros (45 billion dinars).