MOSCOW, February 26, Nadezhda Sarapina. Despite the warning from the authorities, banks continue to cheat with loans. Even fines don't help. Due to hidden fees and mandatory payments, loans turn out to be much more expensive than the interest rate. How not to fall for tricks — in the material .
The letter of the law
Since January 21, financial institutions have been required to indicate the full cost of credit (FLC) next to the interest rate, however, not wanting to scare off customers, banks report this somewhere to the side or on separate tabs. The requirement also applies to calculators, pop-ups and banners. However, loan calculators on websites still only show the rate. Some removed it altogether, leaving only the estimated monthly payment.
You should not focus on this parameter. The bank takes money not only for providing borrowed funds (loan rate), but also for additional services — issuing and servicing cards, mandatory and voluntary insurance, on which the approval of the transaction depends. “In addition to the principal amount of the debt, the total cost includes all expenses that the borrower will incur when servicing the loan,” explains AC Banki.ru analyst Inna Soldatenkova.
Fines do not deter violators. Now banks risk losing 800 thousand rubles, but, according to Anastasia Chumak, co-head of the investor rights protection practice at Intercession, “for many market participants this is an affordable fee.” Besides, people rarely complain. “Currently, the Bank of Russia does not keep separate records on this topic, since there has not been a massive receipt of such complaints,” the Central Bank reports. And yet they are going to raise the upper limit to 1.6 million rubles. The Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and the FAS supported the bill. The regulator recommends extending this to microfinance organizations.
Pitfalls
In the meantime, consumers have to pay more than they expected. “The real rate is 1.5-3% higher than the stated one,” believes BitRiver financial analyst Vladislav Antonov. General Director of Alfa-Forex Guzel Protsenko considers this a minimum, while Chumak allows 20-30%. According to the Banki.ru portal, the average PSK is 40.8%.
“It is difficult to give exact figures. Much here depends on the assessment of the reliability (scoring) of the borrower and the decisions made — whether, for example, the client will agree to a one-time payment for a rate reduction. In addition, banks are not required to disclose what exactly is included in the PSC ranges they indicate, and the absence of a maximum PSC until the end of the first quarter of 2024 retains the possibility of its increase,” Soldatenkova notes. According to published tariffs, in some cases the PSC is twice the interest rate.
Protsenko assures that the publication of the PSK will not scare away clients — Russians do not often refuse unprofitable loans. Another bank, where the actual loan rate is lower, may not approve the transaction. That is, the choice is small, especially for those already in debt.
Most often, non-targeted cash loans are taken for refinancing and car purchases. “They borrow for large household appliances, smartphones, laptops, radio electronics, vacations, especially abroad, education and treatment,” Protsenko lists.
And there are more and more non-repayments. And this alarming trend has been persisting for several years, Antonov clarifies. The situation is aggravated by the increase in the key rate. More than ten million people will be at risk for fulfilling debt obligations, the expert believes. So reliable information about the full cost of the loan, so that everyone can calculate their strength, is very important.
< br />He chose a deposit of three months at 14.5% with the possibility of replenishment. Later it turned out that this tariff was valid for only two months, and from the third the rate dropped to seven. “Ten percent could be obtained by spending more than a certain amount per month from the card. It turned out less — the bank charged me in advance a commission of 199 rubles for the service. Of course, this was not in the application or in the documents sent by mail. I closed the account «, says Victor.
Another trick is the prohibition on replenishing one deposit, which is usually more attractive, by transferring funds within the same bank. That is, the client, wanting to change the conditions, must withdraw cash and deposit it again or transfer money from another bank. This is not clearly stated everywhere. Analysts emphasize that financial organizations that value their business reputation do not allow this to happen. The rest require control and a system of fines in order to become more “frank” and transparent for clients.