Russian courts oblige banks to return funds charged for reducing the interest rate on loans

An analysis of court decisions for 2026 showed that several verdicts were handed down in favor of borrowers over the past month. Similar disputes were recorded with such large financial institutions as Sberbank, Alfa Bank, Gazprombank, Sovcombank and OTP Bank. In some cases, customers manage not only to return the amounts paid, but also to maintain the initial interest rate, refusing additional options.

As explained by the lawyer of the Bar of Pen & Paper Anna Lysenko, which refers to the publication, the interest rate itself is an integral part of the cost of the loan and a key condition of the contract, and not an independent service. Therefore, charging a separate fee for adjusting interest, if stipulated by the terms of the contract, is illegal.

Judicial authorities often treat such payments as veiled interest, and the relevant conditions as a violation of consumer rights. If the commission is recognized as illegal, then the subsequent increase in the rate in case of refusal of the accompanying options can also be challenged.

Evgenia Lazareva, the head of the Popular Front project For the Rights of Borrowers, emphasizes that the refusal of an additional service is possible at any time, even after the expiration of the legal period for cooling. This right is guaranteed by the Federal Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights” and the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.