The European Parliament is currently discussing the adoption of a report on the Green Paper on Mortgage Credit in the EU (see note 1 below) which assesses the case for community initiatives aimed at further integration of European mortgage markets. There is evidence that national mortgage markets are already competitive and, therefore, efficient. Major gains for the European economy and consumers would result from increasing product diversity and competition in mortgage markets.

Therefore, market-led actions relying on product transparency and consumer information seem to be appropriate to unleash the benefits of an integrated EU mortgage market. A Code of Conduct (see note 2 below) based approach, complemented by measures facilitating the ability of lenders to go cross-border and the creation of a liquid secondary mortgage and funding market, is most suited to reflect European mortgage market traditions and therefore requires further commitment.