In January, the government deferred to the second half of the year the introduction of a new stipulation to the Code of Civil Procedure that would allow consumers and the consumer protection authority to file class actions against commercial banks over abusive clauses.
The delay was requested by the International Monetary Fund, which cited the absence of an impact study regarding the new measure.
The new stipulation was also criticized by the central bank, which argued that the norm would cause losses in the local banking system and would endanger financial stability.
Should the new stipulation be added to the Civil Procedure, the banks would be forced to modify all contract clauses that might be considered abusive.
Additionally, the new measure might extend to various types of litigations between consumers and service providers, opening the way to possibly thousands of lawsuits by disgruntled consumers.