09-01-2008
Finance firm highlights challenge of EU mortgage integration
News by Adfero for Simply Business - independent providers of business insurance, business finance, landlord insurance, buy-to-let mortgages & commercial mortgages.
Enhanced levels of integration within the European Union's (EU) mortgage markets have been described as a challenging prospect.
Although a representative from Savills Private Finance believes that greater levels of integration would be beneficial, a number of disparities exist, such as the significant common practice variations and differences in attitudes towards the protection of consumers.
"I don't think there's a lack of agreement about [the need for] regulation - but culturally, all the countries have something different in mind when using that phrase," said Miranda John, international manager for Savills Private Finance. "The main issue is how on earth you would police [integration] and how on earth you would get consensus from all the different markets involved," she added.
In related news, the European Commission has recently published a white paper on the improvement of integration levels within the European mortgage market. Among the difficulties identified include issues in relation to product diversity and depressed levels of consumer confidence.