In the first half of 2022, the number of complaints against financial institutions increased by 36%, to 198.5 thousand, the main reason was the impact of sanctions on the work of banks and other financial market participants, the Bank of Russia said.

Complaints against banks increased by almost 18% year-on-year.

Over 19% of complaints are related to restrictive measures – in particular, difficulties with currency transfers, the introduction of commissions on foreign currency accounts, problems with the withdrawal of foreign currency deposits.

Excluding sanctions, the number of complaints against banks in January-June decreased by almost 5%.

In the largest category – consumer lending – the decline exceeded 21%. This is explained both by a decrease in demand for loans and by earlier measures, such as amendments to the law „On consumer credit (loan)”, directed against the imposition of additional paid services, the Central Bank indicates.

The multiple increase in complaints against securities market entities, which peaked in April, was caused primarily by forced transfers of accounts from brokers who were under sanctions to other market participants, as well as the blocking of foreign shares in the European accounting infrastructure.