A pledge is commonly assumed to be a security allowing the interests of the parties to be as balanced as possible. However, the authors doubt this opinion based on the analysis of their data-set. Only a small share of tenders ends in the sale of property, and the sale price of the mortgage item in many cases seems unfair; lex commissoria does not allow one to fully iron out these shortcomings. Perhaps, in some cases, the interests of all participants of the respective relationships would be better met by the use of title securities, in particular, fiducia, for which Russian laws have prerequisites. Grounds for the resolution of specific practical issues are prepared by law enforcement practice and the regulation of other security frameworks, including pledge.