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The withdrawal of the operating licence of Alta Banka has not affected the operations or financial stability of Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS). EPS has maintained long-standing business relationships and holds accounts with nine other banks in Serbia: Addiko Bank a.d. Beograd, AikBank a.d. Beograd, Banca Intesa a.d. Beograd, Banka Poštanska štedionica a.d. Beograd, Bank of China Serbia a.d. Beograd, Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad, NLB Banka a.d. Beograd, OTP Banka Srbija a.d. Novi Sad and UniCredit Bank Srbija a.d. Beograd.
The majority of EPS payment transactions have been, and continue to be, processed through Banka Poštanska štedionica. All customers on commercial and last resort supply arrangements, as well as households and small customers in the four regional areas of Niš, Novi Sad, Kraljevo and Kragujevac, pay their electricity bills through accounts held with this bank. Collections processed through Alta Banka were used exclusively for the Guaranteed Supply Support Centre in Belgrade.
EPS neither held nor accumulated collection revenues in Alta Banka. Instead, these funds were used on a daily basis to meet the company's current obligations, with daily inflows and outflows remaining broadly balanced. At the time the licence was withdrawn, the funds held in EPS accounts at Alta Banka amounted to less than 0.5 per cent of the company's total monthly revenue from electricity bill collections. EPS will seek recovery of these funds through the bankruptcy proceedings.
Claims that Alta Banka earned commission fees on all electricity bill payments are entirely inaccurate. Alta Banka also acted as the payment processor for the “EPS View Your Bill" application and portal, having offered the lowest commission rate and the most favourable terms in a competitive and transparent procurement process, conducted in accordance with the law and involving six banks invited to submit bids. This arrangement was in the best interests of both the company and its customers. In this role, Alta Banka charged commission fees solely for payments made through the application and portal. Approximately five per cent of EPS customers use this payment channel. For the remaining 95 per cent of customers, any transaction fees have no connection with Alta Banka, as such fees are retained by the institution through which the customer makes the payment, whether via online banking, mobile banking or over-the-counter services.
Equally unfounded are allegations that citizens, through EPS, channelled billions of dinars into Alta Banka, or that EPS held 426, 460 or 479 billion dinars in accounts with the bank. The figures cited publicly represent EPS' total annual operating revenues, not funds held at any point in EPS accounts with Alta Banka or any other bank.
The transition from electricity bill collection through the Treasury Administration to collections through commercial bank accounts began in 2018 and was implemented in phases alongside the migration of Guaranteed Supply Support Centres to a unified SAP billing system. This model, which entails no additional costs either for citizens or for EPS, has been in place for eight years and forms part of the company's payment transaction framework.
Elektroprivreda Srbije remains fully committed to stable and responsible operations and to the timely fulfilment of all its obligations. Through professional management, responsible governance and consistent compliance with the laws of the Republic of Serbia, as well as its own internal regulations and procedures, the company will continue to operate responsibly and in the interests of both citizens and the state. EPS will continue to provide transparent information to the public on matters relevant to its operations and calls upon the media and the public to refrain from relying on sensationalist or unsubstantiated claims, and instead to verify information carefully and report it responsibly.
