European Commission publishes White Paper on EU Mortgage Markets
The European Commission has published a White Paper on the Integration of EU Mortgage Markets. The White Paper* summarises the conclusions of a comprehensive review of European residential mortgage markets and presents a balanced 'package' of measures to improve the efficiency and the competitiveness of these markets, to the benefit of consumers, mortgage lenders and investors alike. This is to be achieved in particular through improvement in the areas of cross-border supply, product diversity, consumer empowerment and customer mobility.The paper says that evidence shows that the single market for residential mortgages is far from integrated. Obstacles exist that restrict the level of cross-border activity on the supply and demand sides, thus reducing competition and choice in the market. While the influence of factors such as language, distance, consumer preferences or lender business strategies cannot be underestimated, other factors, which prevent the conduct or substantially raise the cost of business for offering or taking out a mortgage credit in another EU Member State, can be addressed by appropriate policy initiatives. The potential benefits of removing these barriers could, according to some estimates, reduce the interest payable on a EUR 100 000 mortgage loan by as much as EUR 470 per year.
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