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Age Cannot Be a Condition for Credit: Indecopi Fines Cooperative S/44,000 for This Practice
🇵🇪 Peru /Crime & Justice

Age Cannot Be a Condition for Credit: Indecopi Fines Cooperative S/44,000 for This Practice

From La República · (13m ago) Spanish Critical tone

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Peru's Indecopi has fined two financial institutions for imposing age restrictions on credit offers.
  • The fines were issued because these age-based restrictions lacked objective justification, leading to unequal treatment of consumers.
  • Indecopi stressed that age alone is not a valid reason to deny credit, emphasizing the need for objective risk assessments.

In a significant move for consumer protection, Peru's National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property (Indecopi) has levied substantial fines on two financial entities for discriminatory lending practices based on age. The rulings, which have reached their final administrative instance, establish a crucial precedent: financial institutions cannot arbitrarily restrict access to credit based on age without objective and reasonable justification.

Indecopi sanctioned in second and final administrative instance two entities of the financial system for applying age restrictions in the offer of their credit products.

— La RepúblicaReporting the core action taken by Indecopi.

The cases involved Caja Municipal de Ahorro y Crédito Tacna and Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Serfinco. Tacna was fined 8 UIT (approximately S/44,000) for limiting its 'Crédito Multioficios' to individuals aged 20 and above, failing to provide valid reasons for excluding younger applicants. Serfinco received a 5 UIT (approximately S/27,500) penalty for restricting its 'Crédito Personal' to those between 18 and 63 years old, unfairly excluding older adults.

These measures were adopted after verifying that said conditions did not have an objective and reasonable justification, which generated unequal treatment towards certain consumers.

— La RepúblicaExplaining the basis for the sanctions.

Indecopi's Specialized Consumer Protection Chamber affirmed that such practices violate the Consumer Protection Code by excluding potential clients without a sound basis. This decision reinforces the principle that while financial institutions can assess credit risk, their evaluations must be grounded in objective criteria, such as a borrower's repayment capacity, rather than personal characteristics like age.

The cases involve Caja Municipal de Ahorro y Crédito Tacna and Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Serfinco, whose provisions limited access to credits according to age ranges.

— La RepúblicaIdentifying the sanctioned financial entities.

This ruling sends a clear message across Peru's financial sector: discriminatory practices will not be tolerated. Indecopi's firm stance ensures that consumers, regardless of their age, are treated equitably and have fair access to financial products, promoting a more inclusive and just marketplace.

According to what was determined by the Specialized Chamber for Consumer Protection, these practices contravene the provisions of the Code of Protection and Defense of Consumers by excluding potential users without valid support.

— La RepúblicaDetailing the legal violation identified by Indecopi.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La República in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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