Consumer Protection in Mortgage Lending

Abstract

For different reasons, such as the financial crisis of 2007, the eu has adopted a directive with the purpose of harmonising consumer mortgage lending law whilst ensuring a high level of consumer protection. This article assesses the impacts of the Mortgage Credit Directive in Sweden and the United Kingdom. The focus is residential mortgage lending from a consumer protection perspective on the basis of the main areas of the directive; communications, advice, information, disclosure, responsible lending and repayment. The practical processes of mortgage lending and the ways these fields are regulated are significantly different in the two Member States; however, many similarities on a principle level can be found. The study is an example of how harmonisation is made within the eu and how two Member States with almost opposite starting points are able to harmonise law and still preserve the characteristics of their own solution.