Brazil Supreme Court rules bank home visits to retirees constitute abusive practice

Brazil's Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ) held that unsolicited home visits by bank correspondents offering credit to retirees and INSS pensioners are abusive consumer practices. The ruling arose from a public civil action filed by the Maranhão state prosecutor against Banco Bradesco and was authored by Minister Nancy Andrighi, with Ministers Humberto Martins and Daniela Teixeira joining the vote; Minister Moura Ribeiro dissented. While the court stopped the practice, it did not declare all such contracts automatically null, requiring individual lawsuits to challenge or rescind specific agreements. The decision emphasizes that financial institutions are liable for the actions of their field agents and that elderly consumers may seek damages or contract termination through separate legal actions.