On the occasion of the European Mortgage Federation annual conference in Brussels Commissioner McCreevy stated the Commission cannot accept any blanket assumption that retail markets for all financial services should remain purely local. “The EU mortgage credit market represents a crucial aspect of the EU economy” he said. “This market remains largely national, and far from integrated, particularly since the arrival of the new Member States” he continued.
The Commissioner also said that there is no new Financial Services Action Plan in the pipeline for retail financial services markets. However, the Commission is currently carrying out an assessment of “whether there is a business case for Commission intervention in the EU mortgage credit market”.
to promote cross border business, McCreevy stated that “the concept of a so-called 26th regime in this area, in the form of the 'Euromortgage' device to secure mortgage collateral, is also discussed. We are interested to hear if such initiatives have the potential to encourage lenders to undertake mortgage business across borders, thereby increasing choice and competition in the EU mortgage market.”
A White Paper proposing possible policy measures will be issued after the consultation and an open hearing in 2006.
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