WHO IS DAVOR MACURA, OWNER OF ALTA BANK, WHOSE OPERATING LICENSE WAS REVOKED BY THE NBS? Connected to the SNS, He Has an Extensive Business Network in Serbia!

The National Bank of Serbia today revoked the operating license of ALTA Bank, owned by Davor Macura. The decision was made by the NBS Executive Board, and the Deposit Insurance Agency will be appointed as the bank’s bankruptcy administrator by a court ruling. The Agency will enable depositors to receive their insured amounts within seven working days.

In its statement, the NBS said that the revocation of the license was preceded by supervisory activities aimed at increasing the bank’s liquidity, and that its financial condition had deteriorated significantly in the previous period. According to NBS data, the bank’s account has been blocked since October 30.

But who is the owner of this bank, which has been the subject of so much discussion in the media and on social networks in recent days?

From a Currency Exchange Office in Zemun

Davor Macura entered the business world in 2008, when he opened the “Alta” currency exchange office in Zemun as a sole proprietorship. He became president of the Association of Currency Exchange Offices of Serbia, and in 2014 the business was transformed into a limited liability company. In addition to currency exchange, he founded “Alta Gold,” a company engaged in gold trading, followed by several smaller businesses dealing with cash and goods transactions, Vreme reports.

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Payment Services and the Takeover of a Bank

The rapid rise began in 2016, when Alta Pay obtained the status of a payment institution, allowing customers to pay bills at its currency exchange offices as well. As early as May 2019, the group purchased the state-owned share package in JUBMES Bank, formerly a Yugoslav bank for international economic cooperation, and became its largest shareholder. The bank later changed its name to ALTA. In June 2019, Alta had around 1,000 payment locations, and three years later that number had risen to 2,000, including payment counters in police stations where citizens could pay fees.

Former employees told Vreme about numerous layoffs after the bank came under Macura’s control. In June 2023, Alta Pay received an NBS license to operate as an electronic money institution, and a month later Macura became the bank’s sole owner.

Purchase of IMT

The wider public first heard about Macura in 2021, when his company “ABL Solvent” purchased the assets of the bankrupt Industrija Motora i Traktora (IMT) for around 70 million euros — specifically, a plot of approximately 33.5 hectares in New Belgrade. According to data from the Business Registers Agency, the company had no employees at the time, and the year before it had recorded a loss of 14.4 million dinars. AIK Bank, owned by Miodrag Kostić, approved the loan for the purchase, and the 70-million-euro debt was repaid within a month. At the time of the takeover, the value of the plot was estimated at more than 200 million euros. A luxury residential development called “Green Line,” intended for around 13,500 residents, was planned for the site, Vreme reported. The land, over which Macura initially held only usage rights, was later transferred into his ownership free of charge.

Attempts to Enter Banks in the Region and the EU

Macura also attempted to purchase an almost 20 percent stake in Austria’s Addiko Bank, but the European Central Bank halted the process over suspicions of non-compliance with procedures, the non-transparent origin of capital, and an undeclared acquisition of control, as reported by Nova Ekonomija. He was also interested in Prva Banka of Montenegro but eventually abandoned that venture. In January last year, Alta received a license to provide payment services in Montenegro.

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Business Deal with EPS

A decisive turning point came in 2023, when Alta Pay entered into a strategic partnership with Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS). Electricity bills were paid through the Alta Pay platform, which charged a commission. Last year, reports also emerged that some households, mostly in Belgrade, would pay their electricity bills into an EPS account at Alta Bank instead of into the Treasury account. Other public and publicly affiliated companies, including the Automobile and Motorcycle Association of Serbia and Belgrade’s Parking Service, also entered into arrangements with ALTA Bank.

The deal prompted reactions across the banking sector. Dejan Šoškić, a professor at the Faculty of Economics and former NBS governor, said that such non-transparent arrangements indicated preferential treatment in favor of a particular company and undermined competition, since public institutions had previously conducted transactions through the Treasury. According to figures cited in the media, after the first agreement with EPS, the number of current accounts at the bank increased by 174 percent in 2023 and by a further 103 percent in 2024. Last year, Alta Bank recorded a net profit of nearly 14 million euros.

Network of Companies and Ties to the Government

According to media reports, Macura owns or co-owns 15 companies, most of which were established after 2018. These include businesses involved in jewelry manufacturing and residential construction. According to an investigation by BIRN, through the company “Danica Park” he worked with Nikola Petrović, Milan Radoičić, and Zvonko Veselinović. Students in blockade referred to ALTA Bank as a private institution connected to the SNS, while some bankers told Vreme that its business operations amounted to “trading in influence.”

His official biography states that Macura holds a doctorate in management and business. He has regularly highlighted partnerships and awards abroad, while rarely appearing in public. In recent years, his group expanded its operations into insurance in North Macedonia and trade, while its latest major move was the acquisition of the Idea, Roda, and Mercator retail chains. In April this year, Blic ranked him 15th on its list of the “300 Most Powerful People in Serbia,” and he has also been described in the media as vice president of the Executive Board of the Olympic Committee of Serbia.

The Final Days

The collapse came quickly. Two days ago, lawyer Ivan Ninić posted on the social network X that he had requested an urgent extraordinary inspection of ALTA Bank’s operations from the NBS, claiming he had information about the “intensive and accelerated transfer of funds” abroad, to accounts and legal entities in Moscow and Skopje. The bank’s account was subsequently blocked, and its operating license was revoked today.