The Central Bank of Russia has asked every bank not to offer combined products and regular deposits in the same section on its websites and in its applications.

The Bank is presenting this new policy as a recommendation. It believes that credit institutions ought not to use the same sections of their websites and mobile applications for posting information on regular deposits and combined products, "which provide that the client’s money is partially deposited and partially used on an investment instrument, for example, investment life insurance, brokerage account or trust management."

The regulator has noticed that banks tend to offer these products in the same section, thereby leading inexperienced investors to view combined products as ordinary bank deposits "with a higher interest rate" without seeing their fundamental differences, i.e. without noticing that the money used on the investment part of the combined product is not insured by the Deposit Insurance Agency and that their profitability is not guaranteed.

Earlier, the Bank of Russia asked credit institutions to refrain from offering combined products to non-qualified investors until the introduction of compulsory testing.