Mickoski: We will work to find a solution and protect Alta Bank’s employees and creditors

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said during a parliamentary oversight debate on Alta Bank that the government would make every effort to resolve the situation that had arisen. He said that, just as when he was in opposition and offered support in dealing with the energy crisis, he would not stand aside in the face of this problem.

According to Mickoski, the process now under way is initially aimed at securing the jobs of the bank’s employees, followed by protecting the interests of creditors. The prime minister stressed that Alta Bank is liquid and that the National Bank intervened at the right time and in accordance with the rules.

Mickoski said that the bank is fully liquid and that the country’s financial system has the necessary mechanisms to preserve its stability. He added that these mechanisms had functioned to keep the bank in its current condition.

He also said that, based on consultations with experts, the instruments available to the National Bank had been activated on time and in accordance with procedures, with the aim of saving the financial institution.

The prime minister said that the measures taken and the steps expected to follow protect the interests of citizens and the state. According to him, the solution must ensure that Alta Bank does not end up in bankruptcy, as happened with Eurostandard under the government of the SDSM.

Mickoski referred to the Eurostandard case, saying that the bank went bankrupt after, several days earlier, the finance minister, who was part of the SDSM-DUI government, had withdrawn his savings deposit. He described the action as a scandal.

Speaking about communication with Governor Trajko Slavevski, Mickoski said that in recent days a political party had spread falsehoods and misrepresented the situation. The prime minister stressed that, in the event of a bank purchase, it is normal for the head of government to be informed by the National Bank and not by the media.