The Eurostandard Bank could’ve been saved, but its collapse serves the interests of powerful banking groups, said Gordana Dimitrieska Kocoska from VMRO-DPMNE. According to Dimitrieska, the bank owned by oligarch Trifun Kostovski asked to be put under administration, but was refused by the NBRM Central Bank.

– This is the latest example of a bank going under, an occurrence that happens exclusively under SDSM. Starting with Almako, TAT,  the Export Import Bank, the Macedonian Bank, Rado Bank, Jugo Bank… Savers get cheated out of their money and the financial system is hit yet again. Our laws allow that troubled banks are placed under NBRM management, and the Eurostandard owner says he asked for this but was refused. This just raises further suspicions, that there are ulterior motives that drove the collapase of he bank, Dimitrieska said.

Eurostandard is a relatively small player in the Macedonian banking system, but it has an exclusive contract with the Macedonian Post Office, giving it unprecedented access throughout the country, down to the smallest town, where it can serve as a point to collect salaries, retirement incomes and pay utility bills for people who have no other alternative.

Dimitrieska added that an additional issue that needs to be investigated is who were the privileged political insiders who withdrew their deposits before the bank went under and which companies have outstanding loans  that they may now try to avoid paying back.