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The steps advocated cover many areas including consumer protection, client credit assessment, mortgage brokers, registration systems, which law should apply in cross-border contracts, and the financing of mortgages through capital markets. The Commission will present a Communication by mid 2005.
The Forum Group was unanimous that consumer confidence is a prerequisite for an integrated mortgage market. It concludes that EU legislation should bring into line national rules on early repayment fees and on calculation of real interest rates.
The Group considers that confusion about which national law applies to mortgage credit and mortgage deed contracts when more than one Member State is involved could discourage both lenders and consumers from cross-border mortgage transactions.
The report also asks the Commission to encourage information sharing between Member States in areas such as credit databases and land registration systems.
In parallel with the Forum Group exercise, the Commission has launched research on the economic costs and benefits of further integration of the mortgage market.