Cooperative credit for producers is excluded from the effects of RJ

Cooperative credit was protected by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) which, in a unanimous decision of the third panel, recognized that credits acquired in cooperative acts, those carried out between credit unions and their members, are extra-bankruptcy, that is, they are not subject to the effects of judicial recovery. The decision was made in a joint judgment of Special Appeals 2.091.441 and 2.110.361, filed by Sicredi Alta Noroeste and Cooperativa de Crédito Nosso – Sicoob Nosso, respectively.

In line with the resources proposed by the cooperatives, the rapporteur, Minister Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva, stated that the actions of cooperatives are different from those of traditional financial institutions, as they are based on mutuality and the provision of exclusive services to members. Charging interest, the minister emphasized, does not change the nature of the cooperative act, since its purpose is the sustainability of the activity and the collective benefit of its members.

According to lawyer André Bachur, partner at Passos e Sticca Advogados Associados (PSAA), the decision favors legal certainty, since it applies exactly what the law says. “In practice, it means that credits originating from cooperatives will not be included in the judicial recovery process, that is, even if the rural producer enters into judicial recovery, the cooperative will be able to execute its credit in parallel”, he explains.

According to Bachur, the impact will be gradual, as producers will assess whether it is really feasible to file for judicial recovery, given that credits originating from cooperatives will not be covered by the effects of judicial recovery. “In a scenario in which the institution of judicial recovery has been trivialized, the decision is beneficial and strengthens the procedure, since it defines which credits will be affected by the effects of judicial recovery,” explains the specialist.

The decision comes at a time when the number of judicial recovery processes involving rural producers and agribusiness companies is on the rise. According to data from Serasa Experian, requests for judicial recovery by companies in the agro-industrial sector grew 38% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 – a year that had already registered a historic record for this indicator.

The case law established by the STJ is added to other legal exceptions to judicial recovery, such as: Rural Product Certificates (CPR), with price anticipation and barter operations (Law No. 8.929/94, art. 12); credits from controlled rural credit operations (§7 of art. 49 of Law No. 11.101/05) and debts for the acquisition of rural property in the three years prior to the request (§9 of the same article).

Regarding the credit arising from the physical CPR, the PSAA partner explains that it is no longer absorbed by the effects of the judicial recovery under the terms of art. 11 of Law 8.929/94 (CPR Law), amended by Law 14.112/20 (reform of the Judicial Recovery and Bankruptcy Law - Law 11.101/05). “Therefore, the credits arising from cooperatives to producers formalized by physical CPR will be doubly extra-bankruptcy”, he summarizes.

With this decision, the STJ reaffirms the legal certainty of cooperative contracts and reinforces predictability for financial agents in the agricultural sector. “For rural producers in debt, the ruling serves as a warning. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate, in a strategic and individualized manner, the structure of debts before resorting to judicial recovery, which may not cover all types of credit”, suggests the jurist.