The results of a research conducted by the National Agency of Financial Research (NAFI) show that Russian people are most aware of fixed-term deposits and consumer loans as far as financial services are concerned.


‘One can’t help noticing that people are becoming increasingly more financially literate; they have by now realized that one does not have to save up for years to buy something one needs; taking a loan from a bank is much easier. At the same time, the days when people used to hoard their cash are gone as well. Russians are now taking advantage of bank deposits and see them as a way of saving and increasing their capital,’ SKB-Bank’s Deposit Management Director Denis Belogurov says.


The research also indicated that people are a little less informed about mortgages and credit cards. These products were only rated moderately by the respondents, while mortgages turned out to be the top product people needed more information about. Every one in three respondents wanted to learn more about the mortgages, 18% of those surveyed were interested in finding out about consumer loans, and 12% and 10% of those surveyed were interested in cards and fixed-term deposits, respectively. As it happens, 38% of respondents living in South Federal District would like to be given more data on mortgages; the figure came to 36% in Siberian Federal District, to 35% in Far East Federal District, to 34% in Central Federal District, and to 33% in Ural Federal District. All in all, it appears Russian citizens are well aware of deposits and consumer loans but need more information on mortgage lending schemes.