Poland's Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) has fined PKO Bank Polski PLN 47.5 million for irregularities in the sale of structured deposits between 2021 and 2023. The decision, announced on 5 August 2026, is not yet final — the bank has said it will appeal — but the substance of the charges offers a concrete lesson for anyone who keeps savings in a bank and wonders exactly what they're entrusting their money to.
What KNF actually alleges — and why PKO BP is paying
The fine isn't a single penalty but the sum of five separate decisions, which already says something about the scale of the problem. The regulator broke the blame down into specific areas of the bank's conduct, pricing each one separately:
- PLN 26 million — for failing to inform clients about a conflict of interest when selling structured deposits between 2022 and 2023. This is by far the largest share of the fine, and it suggests the problem wasn't a one-off oversight but a systemic way of presenting the offer.
- PLN 8 million — for failing to carry out a proper analysis of the cost and fee structure of capital-guaranteed structured deposits, from December 2021 to March 2023.
- PLN 4 million — for selling the product without properly matching it to its target client group, between February and November 2022.
- PLN 8 million — for failing to implement procedures that would have ensured the product matched its target group, from December 2021 to March 2023.
- PLN 1.5 million — for unreliable marketing materials used alongside the sale.
Added together, that's the PLN 47.5 million total. It's worth noting that roughly half of the sum relates specifically to the conflict-of-interest charge — a situation where the bank may have profited from selling the product in a way not necessarily aligned with the client's interest, without saying so plainly.
In practice, this means the bank was offering an investment product wrapped in language borrowed from a plain deposit, without always making sure the client understood what they were signing up for. That's a meaningful difference from an ordinary bank deposit, where the rules are simple: you deposit a sum, you know the interest rate upfront, and at the end of the term you get your capital back plus interest — nothing more, nothing less.
A structured deposit is not the same as an ordinary deposit
The word "deposit" here can be misleading, and that's the heart of the whole case. A classic term deposit is protected by the Bank Guarantee Fund up to the equivalent of €100,000, and its interest rate is known from day one. A structured deposit is an entirely different construction — it combines a small guaranteed portion of capital with a derivative instrument linked to, say, a stock index, a basket of shares, or an exchange rate.
A derivative instrument is, put simply, a contract whose value depends on the behaviour of another asset — you're not buying shares in a company or becoming a part-owner of it, you're entering into what amounts to a bet on how a benchmark will move over a set period. The bank builds a product out of this: part of your money goes into a safe deposit that guarantees the return of your capital, while the rest is used to "buy" an option on an index or a basket of assets. If the market behaves as hoped, you earn a return. If it doesn't, in the best case you simply get back the capital you put in, with no interest at all, despite your money having been locked up for months or years.
How to read the KID document before you sign
Every investment product sold to retail clients in the European Union must come with a KID (Key Information Document) — a short, standardised summary of the essentials. In the KID you'll find, among other things, performance scenarios (unfavourable, moderate, favourable, and stress), a risk indicator on a scale of 1 to 7, and the total cost of the product expressed both in currency and as a percentage. It's this document — not a glossy brochure or an advisor's reassurances — that should form the basis of your decision. If an advisor can't produce it, or brushes off questions about it with vague answers, that's a warning sign in itself.
What else to check before you sign anything like this
- Check exactly what's guaranteed. Often only the capital you put in is guaranteed, not any minimum return — in the worst case you get back exactly what you paid in, with no interest at all.
- Ask about payout scenarios. A fair offer shows you what you'd earn under several different outcomes for the underlying index, not just the most optimistic one.
- Ask about fees and commissions. The cost structure is often buried in the margin built into the derivative rather than stated plainly as a percentage.
- Pay attention to how long your money is locked up. Unlike an ordinary deposit, exiting a structured deposit early can be very costly, or simply impossible, without losing part of your capital.
- Compare it with the alternative. Before committing to a structured product, it's worth checking what the best term deposits currently available on the market actually pay — sometimes a simple deposit with a guaranteed rate beats a more complicated construction, precisely because it removes the risk and the ambiguity.
What this case means for your money right now
If you already hold a structured deposit
If you hold, or held, a structured deposit at PKO BP from the period covered by the KNF decision, it's worth checking the terms of that agreement against what was actually presented to you when you signed. The regulator's decision doesn't automatically mean refunds for clients, but it could open the door to individual complaints or claims if the product was sold in a way that didn't match your investment profile.
The first step should be a written complaint filed directly with the bank — it typically has 30 days to respond (up to 60 days for more complex cases). If the response doesn't satisfy you, the next step is to bring the matter to the Financial Ombudsman (Rzecznik Finansowy), who runs free intervention and conciliation proceedings in disputes between clients and financial institutions. It's worth holding on to all the paperwork — suitability questionnaires filled in at the time of purchase, sales presentations, correspondence with your advisor, and the KID itself if you received one. These are exactly the materials that will show whether the bank genuinely assessed that the product matched your financial situation and risk tolerance.
If you're looking for a safe place for your savings
For most people — especially those who simply want to set money aside for a holiday, an emergency cushion, or renovations — the simplest solutions are usually the safest. A plain term deposit or a savings account with a solid interest rate won't hand you a spectacular return, but you'll know exactly how much you'll get back and when. The flexibility of a savings account — no locking funds away for months or years — can be a real advantage if you're not sure when you might need the money. It's also worth remembering that, unlike structured deposits, both of these products are fully covered by the Bank Guarantee Fund up to €100,000 per client at a given bank.
Summary — what you should do
The fine against PKO BP is a concrete example of why it always pays to read the fine print, especially when a seller calls a product a "deposit" even though it's really an investment instrument carrying risk. Before signing any savings agreement, ask directly: what's guaranteed, what are the payout scenarios, what fees does the bank charge, and will you get to see the KID document before you sign. If the answers are vague or the advisor dodges specifics, that's your cue to look for a simpler alternative.
You don't have to compare offers manually, bank by bank. Check the current ranking of the best deposits and pick a product whose rules you understand from day one — no surprises years down the line.