Poland's Getin Group will not be leaving the structured products market, as suggested by the local press, but Norbert Duczkowski, investment products director at Getin Bank, has confirmed it is no longer offering long-term structured life insurance policies that require a lump sum investment but will continue to offer products that allows investing in instalments.
The Polish bank has been the target of a wave of criticism from investors and the local media over the alleged mis-selling of its range of long-term structured products, within its Kwartalny Profit, Swiatowe Rynki and Kwartalne Zyski series.
According to SRP data, these 10-year capital-protected income investments (Kwartalne Zyski, Kwartalny Profit, Światowe Bogactwa and Światowe Rynki), most of them linked to RBS's proprietary indices, were marketed between March 2011 and July 2012 and sold an estimated PLN1.255bn (€300m). Four tranches from series of Światowe Rynki and Kwartalny Profit finished in the top 10 best selling products ranking of 2012.
According to media reports, a number of Polish investors in the products have complained of not being fully informed about the product terms, especially in relation to the wrapper type and the 10-year investment tenor. And various Polish media outlets have reported that the firm's advisers and sales representatives recommended the products as good investments to retired people, some over 70 years old.
Investors reported that when they became aware of the term of the investment, they were faced with significant penalty charges if they cancelled their investments. Some investors claimed suffering losses of up to 15% of the initial capital after just a few months due to early-withdrawal charges.
The Polish Financial Supervision Authority (PFSA) issued a set of recommendations in October 2012 in relation to sale practices for structured products, following complaints from affected investors.
SRP can confirm that Getin Bank is currently offering Dziesięciokrotka, Quattro and Quattro Plus, but it could not get hold of the product information by press time.