Banks not to solely focus on maximum interest rates on savings accounts: regulators’ recommendations
The Bank of Russia and the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (FAS) have recommended that banks be more transparent in their disclosure of the conditions the returns on savings accounts are subject to. These conditions should be indicated in the same place and in the same font as the maximum interest rate on bank websites and in any other materials for clients. This follows from the joint information letter of the regulators.
Sometimes, banks do not draw attention of their clients to the fact that the interest rate depends on how much and how long they hold their money in savings accounts, and the actual interest rate may be much lower than the maximum one. Clients of some banks may find this information only in the document specifying all terms and conditions of a saving product by clicking a number of links.
Earlier, the Bank of Russia and FAS issued similar recommendations regarding the disclosure of loan and deposit conditions.