Opinion – Marcia Dessen: CDB at 300% of CDI is an unmissable offer, but full of conditions

The commercial call attracts: “CDB 300% of CDI!”. Wow! Who does not want to earn triple the base interest rate in a risk-free investment, protected by the FGC (Credit Guarantee Fund)? Me and everyone! “It pays in 3 months what would take more than 9 months to pay off in savings”, continues the attractive advertisement.

Thinking it too good to be true, I checked it out. The information is there, in smaller print, but it is. “Available until 11/29 until 3:00 pm. Maturity in three months. Maximum investment per CPF of R$7,000.”

The condition: open an account. The offer, valid only for new customers, cannot be used by those who already have an account. Boring, right?

Congratulations to this institution, there was no lack of transparency. Her strategy is clear, to attract new customers; once inside, the customer may be interested in other products, and that’s where the relationship really begins.

As this is a very high yield, there should be a limit, in such a way that the cost does not exceed the cost of acquiring new customers that the institution is willing to pay. In this case, the limit is R$7,000.

Pay attention to the limit, the excellent remuneration is only valid for deposits of up to R$7,000. It means that whoever deposits R$20,000, for example, will receive 300% of the CDI over R$7,000 and normal remuneration, probably 100% of the CDI, on the excess amount.

If we consider an accumulated CDI of 2% in three months, assuming an average Selic rate of around 9% per year over the next three months, an investment of R$7,000 to 100% of the CDI would yield R$140. How investors will earn R$420 , we can conclude that the difference of BRL 280 is the cost of acquiring a new customer, an expense that the company can recover if the customer keeps the account open and is interested in other products.

Other institutions adopt the same strategy to attract new investors. One of them offers CDB at 200% of the CDI in applications of up to R$5,000, and I confess that I had more difficulty finding this information. Another competitor wasted no time in offering 210% of the CDI, joining the dispute to win new customers, benefiting from the competition.

The investment in CDB for 90 days pays income tax of 22.5% and, despite this, the profitability easily exceeds the profitability of savings.

In the example above (300% CDI), for example, the institution credits gross income of BRL 420 and withholds income tax of BRL 94.50, leaving a net income of BRL 325.50 in the client’s account. More than three times the savings yield in the same period, around R$98.00 using the same interest assumption, assuming a 70% yield on the Selic rate.

For small investors, a great incentive to start investing. They just need to keep an eye out for future offerings to come, to ensure that the cost is low and that the product is suited to their needs, respecting their investment objectives and risk tolerance profile.

Do you know what’s cool in this war for new customers? Make people aware of their importance to financial institutions in the market. Many don’t come close, they think they’re small, that they won’t be relevant. Here is an example of the value and benefit of the small investor being disputed by several houses.

Once inside, stay tuned! Do not return the gain from the first operation in the next operation. The institution’s challenge is to continue delighting the client. And the client must remain demanding, exploring the best opportunities in this relationship.

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