The savings: the RIS suspended, but not abandoned

At the very heart of European financial debates, the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS) is drawing sustained attention, particularly within the landscape of individual savings. While the RIS, initially championed by the European Commission, is currently on hold, it is far from being abandoned. This context highlights the major issues concerning the protection of savers and the adaptation of banking and insurance practices. Major French chains such as Caisse d’Épargne, Banque Populaire, Crédit Agricole, and Société Générale are observing this legislative hiatus with caution, as it could have a decisive impact on their savings offers and intermediary remuneration methods.

In 2025, this delay occurs in a climate where the attractiveness of savings products, particularly life insurance, remains a crucial issue to guide the public toward higher-performing and more tailored investments. Moreover, consumers are increasingly demanding transparency in financial advice and the fees associated with proposed products. In this context, online banks such as Boursorama Banque, ING Direct, Fortuneo, and Hello Bank! are experiencing significant growth, with innovative digital investment strategies that sometimes break away from traditional models of historic institutions.

This temporary freeze of the RIS raises several questions: how will advisors’ compensation mechanisms evolve? What will be the role of personalized advice in the face of the digital shift? What impacts on traditional systems like the Housing Savings Plan (PEL) or regulated savings? This question is critical, as it influences the trust of savers in a context where multi-factor economic crises sustain high volatility in financial markets. Maintaining elements such as commission-based compensation, often criticized but already established in parliamentary debates, demonstrates a fragile balance between consumer protection and the economic viability of actors.

The implications of the RIS delay on savings regulation in Europe

The postponement of the Retail Investment Strategy is not merely a setback but a period of reflection imposed within a context where European regulation seeks to address multiple objectives. On one hand, it aims to better protect savers by ensuring impartial advice and greater clarity of financial products. On the other hand, the desire to promote individual participation in capital markets aims to energize economic financing—a dual imperative that is not always easy to reconcile.

Several measures planned in the initial version of the RIS from May 2023 have been suspended. Among them, the drastic restriction on commissions paid to life insurance intermediaries was a crucial point. This measure aimed to limit what some consider to be a risk of excessive commissions that could impact contract yields. However, this restriction had its downside: it could jeopardize some distribution models based on personalized advice.

A Deloitte analysis from the end of 2024 highlighted the complexity of the situation by identifying three main objectives:

• 🔹 Improving the protection of savers, notably through transparency of fees and commissions.
• 🔹 Facilitating access to a wide range of financial products.
• 🔹 Strengthening the role of intermediaries as competent advisors.

A summary table of the measures envisaged in the RIS and their current status clearly illustrates this evolving landscape:

Planned Measure in the RIS	Objective Targeted	Status in 2025	Potential Impact
Restriction of commissions to intermediaries	Lower costs for the saver	Suspension	Maintaining personalized advice model
Enhanced transparency obligation	Better customer information	Progressive implementation	Increased SAVER trust
Encouragement for diversified investment	Boosting the real economy	Maintained	Access to rare or innovative markets

Indeed, this delay must not obscure the major challenge: the RIS, in its original conception, calls for more responsible and wiser investment, especially for individuals who have historically favored safer but less profitable placements, such as regulated savings accounts. Additionally, it should be noted that easing the regulatory framework could reinforce «patriotic savings» practices, embodied in specific measures aimed at directing resources towards economic and social defense, a topic of other parallel debates.

How traditional French banks are adapting to the suspended RIS context

The suspension of the RIS introduces a period of uncertainty in the strategies of traditional banking institutions. Banks such as Caisse d’Épargne, Banque Populaire, Crédit Agricole, LCL, and Société Générale are closely monitoring regulatory developments while continuing to develop their savings offerings.

These banks benefit from extensive distribution networks and maintain close relationships with their clients. Their economic model is largely based on advisors’ compensation, often through commissions on sales, which is directly targeted by the RIS. However, in light of the suspension, they are leveraging this window to innovate without sacrificing the quality of advice and product profitability.

The main issues are as follows:

• ⚖️ Maintaining advisor motivation through attractive remuneration systems.
• 📈 Diversifying the range of savings products offered to meet various expectations.
• 🔍 Enhancing transparency and customer education to align with RIS principles.

An important lever used by these banks remains life insurance. Offering flexibility and advantageous tax treatment, it still plays an essential role today. The following link provides an in-depth analysis of why life insurance remains a pillar of savings solutions in 2025. It highlights how traditional banks rely on this solution despite regulatory uncertainties.

In this context, the banks’ strategy often revolves around segmented offerings:

1. Wealth clients: premium products, personalized advice.
2. Younger professionals: digital and accessible offers, with Fortuneo and Boursorama Banque competing.
3. Regular savers: regulated savings plans (PEL, Livret A, LDDS) maintained as the foundation.

Bank	Favored savings type	Actions adapted to RIS context
Caisse d’Épargne	Life insurance, PEL	Strengthening advice, digital tools
Banque Populaire	Regulated savings, structured products	Advisor training, increased transparency
Crédit Agricole	Life insurance, employee savings	Product innovation, communication
LCL	PEL, life insurance	Highlighting tax advantages
Société Générale	Multi-support savings	Consolidating the advisory network

Educational challenges and increased transparency

French banks are also committed to significantly improving financial education around savings products. A deliberate effort to better inform clients about fees, risks, and benefits of investments. Consequently, by 2025, there is a growing number of simplified informational documents, customer portals with personalized simulations, and a more proactive approach from advisors. This dynamic aligns with strict regulatory expectations reinforced by European Commission recommendations.

Support measures are already in place across several networks. The use of innovative digital tools also allows targeting a broader clientele, especially young professionals, often enticed by clarity and quick execution.

Online banks and neobanks: a new landscape in the face of the RIS

Compared to traditional banks, digital players sometimes circumvent the inherent difficulties of the RIS suspension. Boursorama Banque, ING Direct, Fortuneo, and Hello Bank! pursue strategies where digital tools play a central role, offering increased autonomy to clients.

These online banks offer simplified tools enabling savers to manage their investments directly, thereby reducing reliance on remunerated advice, which is under scrutiny due to the RIS. They leverage several key factors:

• 📱 Intuitive and personalized platforms.
• ⚙️ Automation of advice via artificial intelligence.
• 💰 Lower management costs compared to traditional players.

This model particularly appeals to younger generations used to digital and rapid financial management. However, it has limitations. The absence of human advice can lead to risks such as misunderstanding products or errors in constructing the portfolio, a concern often raised by financial analysts.

Online bank	Main characteristic	Challenges related to RIS
Boursorama Banque	Diverse offerings, strong digital presence	Maintaining quality advice without high commissions
ING Direct	Innovative technology, personalized UX	Risk of insufficient automated advice
Fortuneo	Digital hybrid with human support	Balancing autonomy and guidance
Hello Bank!	Group integration, combined offers	Consolidating a reliable image in the RIS context

In this context, it is essential that the regulatory framework considers the specifics of digital tools to prevent the RIS suspension from hampering this modernization momentum. Adapting regulation is also a key factor so that platforms like Caisse d’Épargne can pool their strengths in response to increasingly autonomous client behaviors.

The central role of life insurance in a context without active RIS

Despite the suspension of the RIS, life insurance retains a predominant place in savings strategies. This situation is especially evident with players like AXA Banque, which integrate both advice and digital platforms to strengthen their offerings.

It should be noted that this solution benefits from attractive taxation and significant adaptability, making it a versatile product from the saver’s perspective. Insurers have also developed combined offerings incorporating secure euro funds and more dynamic unit-linked investments, appealing to various profiles.

Nevertheless, the remuneration mechanisms for life insurance advisors remain central to debates. The suspension of the RIS has not ended controversies around commissions, heavily discussed in parliamentary and economic circles. To better understand this reality, this article explains why life insurance remains a pillar of savings solutions in 2025.

• 💡 Investment options flexibility.
• 🔒 Relative security with euro funds.
• 📈 Performance opportunities via unit-linked funds.
• 📊 Adaptability to saver profiles.
• ⚠️ Need for awareness of fees and charges.

A comparative table of the key features of available life insurance solutions in 2025 helps better grasp this balance between risks and benefits:

Characteristic	Description	Impact on the saver
Euro funds	Secure investment with capital guarantee	Peace of mind, moderate returns
Unit-linked funds	Investments in stocks, bonds	Higher growth potential, increased risk
Scheduled payments management	Automatic management adapted to profile	Enhanced savings discipline
Tax advantages	Tax exemptions under certain durations	Wealth optimization

Consequences of the RIS suspension on regulated and popular savings products

The suspension of the RIS also has a significant impact on traditional regulated savings products, such as the Housing Savings Plan (PEL) and bank accounts. These, historically backed by major French banks, still constitute a significant part of French savings portfolios.

Institutions such as Crédit Agricole or Caisse d’Épargne offer a wide range of these products, providing security and liquidity, but are currently facing increased competition, notably from online banks.

Among notable developments, one observes:

• 📉 A gradual decline in guaranteed rates on PELs, creating relative disinterest.
• 💡 Increased information campaigns to demonstrate the added value of these products.
• 📆 The need for administrative simplification of these schemes to enhance their attractiveness.

An analysis on unlocking the PEL without a project details conditions allowing the account to remain flexible despite regulatory constraints, a key point to maintain customer interest.

Savings product	Current state	RIS suspension consequences	Perspectives 2025
Housing Savings Plan (PEL)	Decreasing rates, tighter regulation	Decreased enthusiasm	Potential reform calls
Livret A	Highly liquid product, low rate	Maintained as a safe haven	Periodic rate revisions
Development and Solidarity Savings Account (LDDS)	Recently expanded beneficiaries	Interest maintained despite competition	Increased visibility

The recurring debate over commissions and intermediary remuneration

The remuneration of intermediaries remains a major point of friction since the announcement and suspension of the RIS. Striking a balance between ensuring fair pay for advisors and limiting the impact of commissions on overall investor yields is delicate.

Consensus is difficult to achieve; while some professional associations and consumer organizations sharply oppose ongoing commissions that could be perceived as conflicts of interest, banking networks argue that such remuneration ensures personalized service and effective client follow-up.

Here are the main arguments from both sides:

• 🔸 Opponents of commissions: Risks of bias in advice, increased costs for savers, reduced transparency.
• 🔸 Proponents of the system: Advisor motivation, network sustainability, tailored advice.

Aspect	Arguments against commissions	Arguments for commissions
Cost for the saver	Has increased annual fees	Allows for guidance support
Quality of advice	Advice can sometimes be biased	Expert advisors available
Transparency	Lack of clear information	Detailed documents provided

Future prospects: innovations in savings solutions despite the suspended RIS

The temporary absence of the RIS does not hinder innovation in the savings sector. On the contrary, it encourages the development of original solutions to attract and retain clients while respecting transparency and trust issues. Insurtechs and fintechs inspire large banks to rethink their models.

Here are some avenues being explored:

• 🚀 Development of hybrid products combining security and performance.
• 🤖 Increasing use of artificial intelligence to customize advice.
• ⚖️ Adapting platforms to new regulations as soon as they are active.
• 🌱 Incorporating ESG criteria into investment choices.

A notable example is AXA Banque, which offers digital subscription modalities coupled with enhanced human support, integrating these innovations into an effective hybrid model. Furthermore, raising awareness of the patriotism of savings constitutes a strong lever to direct flows towards nationally strategic projects.

Innovation	Description	Customer benefits
Hybrid products	Secure funds with dynamic components	Balance between return/risk
Artificial intelligence	Automated personalized advice	Increased responsiveness and relevance
ESG criteria	Socially responsible investing	Values and finance alignment
Digital-human support	Multi-channel customer relationship	Satisfaction and trust

Savings and societal expectations: transparency and responsibility as top priorities

It should be noted that savers’ expectations are evolving rapidly. Consumers now demand greater transparency, more responsible management of their money, and a direct or indirect positive impact from their investments. This rise in social and environmental demands is a call for profound reform, which the suspended RIS should not hinder.

Refocusing on financial education is also essential to enable everyone to assess risks and opportunities associated with proposed products, whether banking or insurance. For instance, banks such as Crédit Agricole and Caisse d’Épargne are increasing online training to facilitate understanding of savings mechanisms as well as the advantages and constraints of different options.

• 🌍 Growth of ESG and SRI funds.
• 🔎 Transparency on fees and commissions.
• 📚 Financial education within banking networks.
• 📢 Clear communication on product risks.

These demands are now echoed by institutional actors and legislative bodies, making ongoing adaptation of sales methods and available offerings necessary. This evolution is also evident in broader concerns about the temporary closure or reform of the PEL and in debates on the taxation of savings products.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about savings and the suspended Retail Investment Strategy

• Q1: What does the suspension of the RIS mean for savers?
  A1: The suspension means that restrictive measures on commissions and certain advice rules are temporary. Banks and advisors continue to operate under current regulations without immediate changes.
• Q2: Are life insurance products still attractive despite the suspended RIS?
  A2: Yes, life insurances retain their tax advantages and flexibility, remaining a preferred choice for various saver profiles.
• Q3: How are online banks adapting without the RIS?
  A3: They rely on digital solutions to offer autonomy and transparency, focusing on user-friendly platforms and automated advice.
• Q4: Will the suspension of the RIS change the conditions of the Housing Savings Plan (PEL)?
  A4: Since the RIS is suspended, existing rules for the PEL continue to apply, although reforms are considered in the medium term.
• Q5: What is the position of traditional banks on commissions?
  A5: They defend commissions as a way to ensure quality, stable, and personalized advice, which is crucial for maintaining trustful customer relationships.