Idea Bank mis-selling

In 2020, the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection imposed a fine of 17,5 million Polish zloty on Idea Bank for the mis-selling of life insurance products to consumers. According to the Office of Consumer Protection, Idea Bank provided unreliable information about the risks concerning certain types of investment products that were offered to consumers who took out life insurance policies.

Idea Bank offered non-standardised closed-end investment funds to unit-linked life insurance customers, but was not transparent to consumers about the level of risks involved, including the possibility for consumers to lose all of the money that they invested. Idea Bank was found to have misled consumers about the investment risk of the products, including providing false guarantees about the return of the investment products offered. These practices were found to be unfair and against the interests of consumers, and Idea Bank was required to pay compensation to affected consumers. Idea Bank suspended these practices at the end of 2017.