On February 28, ESBG sent its response to the European Commission questionnaire on what to include in the upcoming Review of the Mortgage Credit Directive (MCD). The consultation, published in November, covered 55 questions. The review of the legislative text is expected to be launched later this year.

In our response, we asked for a limited review on the necessary topics only. Our overall position is that an in-depth review of the Mortgage Credit Directive would be premature, at this time. Since the last review took place in 2016 and it concerns long-term finance, more time is needed to evaluate the impact of the changes included then.

As the mortgage market is not operating much cross-border, we believe that EU level intervention is not necessary. Consumers rely heavily on local expertise of mortgage advisers and working in their own languages and within national legal frameworks.

However, one area we are in favour of a review is the compatibility with other EU texts. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation, the EU Accessibility Act, and the Rome I Regulation will all impact the MCD so alignment is necessary.

As always, ESBG is pleased to see work being carried out on consumer protection. ESBG members have a long history of financial education and welcome the provision in the MCD text to increase financial education for consumers, which is more defined at national level.

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