Central Bank of Russia reports 392,000 complaints in 2025 as tied-selling falls but bank complaints rise on tougher anti-fraud controls

The Central Bank of Russia published its 2025 statistics on complaints from financial consumers and investors, reporting almost 392,000 complaints. Supervisory action was linked to a sharp fall in complaints about tied selling of additional services in lending, while complaints against banks increased overall as stricter anti-fraud measures triggered more disputes over restricted transactions. Complaints about tied selling decreased by 31% in consumer lending and 65% in car lending. The main drivers of the nearly 15% rise in complaints against banks were more frequent restrictions on funds transfers and card transactions, even as these measures reduced complaints about cyber fraud by 30% and about cases where people handed over money or confidential information to fraudsters under pressure by 29%; the central bank said banks often failed to explain the reasons for restrictions and the steps needed to lift them, prompting recommendations issued in August that monitoring suggests most banks are following. Complaints against insurance companies almost halved, with compulsory motor third-party liability insurance complaints almost three times lower than in 2024 and fewer complaints also recorded for accident and health insurance and life insurance. Complaints against microfinance organisations rose by 13.2%, including due to issues obtaining loan repayment holidays, although supervisory measures led some firms to stop practices such as illegal interest accrual and unjustified refusals to grant repayment holidays, and complaints about hard selling of additional services fell by almost 30%. Complaints against professional securities market participants declined by 24%, largely reflecting a 2.9-fold drop in sanctions-related complaints, while complaints about managing unit investment funds fell by about 25%.