EUROSTANDARD AND ALTA BANKA - TWO BANKING CRISES, THE SAME QUESTIONS

In 2020 Eurostandard Bank collapsed. Six years later, Macedonia is again facing serious banking uncertainty, this time with Alta Banka AD Bitola. The cases are not legally identical, but they raise one and the same essential question: does the National Bank recognise risks in time, and who bears responsibility when the banking system faces a crisis? In August 2020, the National Bank, led by Governor Anita Angelovska-Bezhoska, revoked Eurostandard Bank's operating licence. Bankruptcy followed, and the Deposit Insurance Fund set aside around 68 million euros to compensate depositors. Those were funds from the deposit insurance system, not a direct expense from the state budget. But the question remains how much of that money has been recovered through the bankruptcy proceedings and what losses the other creditors suffered. In 2026 the National Bank, now led by Trajko Slaveski, faces a new challenge. On 1 November a three-month administration was introduced at Alta Banka AD Bitola, after its majority owner, Alta Banka of Belgrade, had its operating licence revoked in Serbia. But here an even more serious question arises. How did the National Bank in September 2025 approve the Serbian Alta Banka taking over Stopanska Banka Bitola, when just fourteen months later circumstances have emerged that could seriously threaten the Macedonian bank's solvency? Was the investor's financial position checked in sufficient detail? Were there warning signs? Did the Macedonian regulator have all the information from Serbia? By law the National Bank is an independent institution. But its governors are chosen through an institutional procedure in which politically elected officials take part. The current governor, Trajko Slaveski, has a long political career, including as finance minister. That in itself does not prove political influence over specific banking decisions. But it further underlines the need for transparency, professional independence and public accountability. With Eurostandard Bank there were already huge payouts from the Deposit Insurance Fund. With Alta Banka Bitola there is, for now, no declared bankruptcy and no proven loss to the state or the Fund. Introducing administration is a preventive measure, not proof that the bank has failed. But if the crisis deepens, the questions about protecting savers, businesses, creditors and the Fund's money will be asked again. In Macedonia it is not enough, after every banking crisis, to announce that the institutions acted in accordance with the law. What is needed is a public analysis of the supervisory procedures, a review of the decisions approving ownership and a finding on whether there were failings. The difference between Eurostandard and Alta Banka lies in the legal situation and the causes of the crisis. The similarity lies in the questions the public has the right to ask. Banks manage other people's money. The National Bank has a legal obligation to supervise their operations. And citizens have the right to know whether that supervision was timely, thorough and independent. Because trust in the banking system is not built with press releases, but with transparent decisions and established responsibility.