Montenegro’s government has withdrawn approval for Luštica Development to use rights over a marina and waterfront promenade as security for a €15mn loan from Belgrade-based Alta Bank.
The five-year facility was intended to finance working capital and included a 12-month grace period. It carried a fixed annual interest rate of 8.5 per cent, falling to 7.5 per cent once the security had been registered.
The government initially approved the pledge on June 29 but reversed the decision a month later, instructing the property ministry to remove the lien from public records. It cited unspecified “legal and factual circumstances” and offered no detailed explanation.
The security would have given Alta Bank rights over the Luštica Bay marina and adjoining promenade near Tivat in the event of default. The assets stand on state-owned coastal land over which the developer holds usage rights, making government consent necessary.
Luštica Development, controlled by Swiss-based Orascom Development Holding with the Montenegrin state holding a minority stake, told local newspaper Vijesti that it currently had no credit arrangements with Alta Bank. However, its 2025 financial statements recorded €10.65mn of outstanding long-term loans from the Serbian lender across three facilities.
The developer reported €47.7mn of long-term borrowing at the end of 2025, including €24.3mn owed to Montenegro’s CKB. It subsequently drew €35mn from another Serbian lender, AikBank, in January 2026. The latest reversal therefore interrupts one financing arrangement while leaving Luštica Development’s broader reliance on secured bank borrowing intact.
