Number of complaints to the Bank of Russia decreases by 12.5% for nine months
This trend is primarily due to a decrease by almost a third in the number of complaints filed against banks compared to nine months of 2020, when the regulator received applications for loan restructuring caused by the pandemic.
At the same time, the number of complaints filed against microfinance organisations (MFOs) (+37.3%) and insurance companies (+20.4%) increased.
The rise in complaints was noted in most of the main insurance topics and was largely due to the low base effect that developed amid COVID-19 restrictions in April-June 2020. Besides, the trend of appeals was affected by a decrease in the accessibility of OSAGO in several regions.
One of the reasons behind the surge in complaints filed against MFOs was the activity of an informal group of interconnected organisations that violate consumer rights. In 2021, the Bank of Russia stroke off six MFOs that were part of this group from the register. The share of the hard selling of extra paid services is also on the rise in the structure of complaints filed against MFOs.
Against the background of the continuing inflow of retail investors to the stock market, the number of complaints filed against professional securities market participants has increased 1.6 times.
Due to the change in the rules for transferring pension savings from 2019, the number of complaints filed against non-governmental pension funds continues to decrease (-28.9%).
Incorrect sales of investment life insurance is still the main reason for filing complaints about misselling (+14.8%). At the same time, the number of complaints about misselling of broker products and services continues to grow. The Bank of Russia will now use examinations of financial institutions for more effective and targeted suppression of misselling.