FAS Investigates Sberbank Over Misleading Deposit Advertisement on TV Channel

The Federal Antimonopoly Service has initiated a case against Sberbank due to an advertisement for a deposit that was broadcast on television. The FAS press service announced this in their Telegram channel. The reason for the claims was an advertisement that was aired on the «St. Petersburg — 5 channel». The advertisement prominently displayed information about a 16% annual interest rate on the deposit. However, details about other conditions that affect the depositors' income were written in a small font in an explanatory footnote, making it difficult to perceive. The footnote also stated that these conditions only apply to salaried clients who have subscribed to one of the bank’s paid services.



The FAS suspects Sberbank of violating advertising laws. «In the event of a violation being established, the bank will be held accountable under the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation», — the service warned. The department reminded that in February, they initiated a case against Sberbank for similar advertising of another deposit with a 12% annual interest rate. In May 2023, the FAS fined the bank 600,000 rubles for an advertisement for a loan that prominently displayed attractive information about an interest rate starting from 4.9%, while other conditions affecting the cost of the loan were written in a «difficult to perceive» manner. In Russia, in the fall of 2023, a ban was imposed on banks and microfinance organizations advertising only attractive interest rates. Now, credit organizations are required to disclose not only the minimum but also the maximum rate in their advertisements. This applies to text messages and other forms of advertising as well.