Activities of Nikolaos CHOUNTIS related to 2011/0062(COD)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on credit agreements relating to residential property PDF (1 MB) DOC (1 MB)
Amendments (20)
Amendment 180 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) The financial crisis and the property market 'bubbles' have not been caused by consumers, their irresponsible behaviour or inability to repay their debts. The core of the problem has been the excessive increase in mortgage lending in the EU which has failed to replace the welfare state and the direct link between mortgage loans and 'innovative financial' products aimed at ensuring the profitability of banks.
Amendment 185 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4 a (new)
Recital 4 a (new)
(4a) The financial crisis has shown that when the market is required to meet fixed social needs, the results are disastrous for society. European households are drowning in their debts with 70% of their debts being concentrated in mortgage loans. As long as the existing system continues to operate for profit at the expense of European society and the peoples of Europe, the problem will become worse and it will be impossible to overcome the crisis.
Amendment 189 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5 a (new)
Recital 5 a (new)
Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 8 a (new)
Recital 8 a (new)
(8a) In order to achieve responsible lending and borrowing in the mortgage market, the scope of regulation should be broader than in the retail market. Most problems are not related to default on repayment of loans or to irresponsible borrowing by consumers.
Amendment 207 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15 a (new)
Recital 15 a (new)
(15a) The irresponsible practices of participants in the mortgage credit market were one of the structural components of the outbreak of the financial crisis. Conduct of this kind occurred mainly at the pre-contractual stage and was based on the conflict of interests between credit institutions, credit intermediaries and consumers. The incentives of increased remuneration, bonuses and commissions on sales are completely contrary to the interests of consumers. Member States should ensure the decoupling of pay for all market participants from the selling of loans.
Amendment 215 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 19 a (new)
Recital 19 a (new)
(19a) In order to protect consumers, to strengthen their confidence in property markets, but also in an effort to prevent the conclusion of inappropriate and dangerous contracts, participants in the mortgage credit market should provide, free of charge and with full transparency, the necessary information and explanations relating to loans geared to individual consumers and in their interests.
Amendment 233 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Consumers should provide all available and necessary relevant information on their financial situation and personal circumstances to the creditor or intermediary in order to facilitate the creditworthiness assessment. The consumer should not, however, be penalised and the evaluation of the suitability of the product. It shall, however, be forbidden to penalise the consumer where he is not in a position to provide certain information or assessments of the future evolution of his financial situation. In situations where consumers knowingly provide incomplete or inaccurate information, Member States should be able to determine the appropriate penalties.
Amendment 248 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 31 a (new)
Recital 31 a (new)
31 (a) Given that the decision to take out a mortgage loan is very important for the consumer and taking into account the complex nature of these credit products, the conflict of interests that exists in the market and the inability of consumers sometimes to evaluate them properly, Member States and the relevant State authorities should provide citizens with independent advice. The information should be up-to-date and cover the full range of products available on the market and the advice should be based on the financial situation of the citizen and his or her preferences and objectives.
Amendment 249 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 31 b (new)
Recital 31 b (new)
(31b) In order to eliminate the phenomenon of 'conflicts of interest' and to ensure the objectivity of advice, where advice is provided by individuals, measures should be taken to ensure their independence from credit institutions and their pay should be transparent. Steps should also be taken to ensure their professional competence to provide special advice and that they meet certain standards. This service should be based on a fair and comprehensive analysis of the products available on the market and the suitability of the product in relation to the financial situation, preferences and goals of the consumer.
Amendment 250 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 32
Recital 32
Amendment 257 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 32 a (new)
Recital 32 a (new)
(32a) Given that citizens and businesses are not in the same situation, the level of protection for citizens must be increased. In order better to protect consumer rights therefore, specific provisions should be enacted to safeguard the right to early repayment of loans without penalty or undue cost for consumers. Member States should also adopt stiff penalties for offering misleading and false interest rates and set maximum limits for interest rates in order to keep interest rates for mortgage credits as low as possible and to eliminate usury.
Amendment 260 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 32 b (new)
Recital 32 b (new)
(32b) The major problem in the real estate market occurs in the phase after the loan contract is signed and is due to competition between banks and to the rationale of greater profitability. Thus banks adopted 'innovative products' whose connection with mortgage loans eventually produced the so-called housing bubbles. In order to achieve sound, transparent and sustainable lending, therefore, barriers should be erected to prevent the securitization of these products and the possibility of reselling them should be prohibited.
Amendment 356 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 412 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point h a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point h a (new)
(ha) the possibility of early repayment of the loan and the costs involved.
Amendment 446 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point j a (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point j a (new)
(ja) a presentation of the best and the worst-case scenarios where the contract is at a floating interest rate and the Annual Percentage Rate of Charge is calculated on the basis of current prices, i.e. consumers must be informed about estimated fluctuations in interest rates during the period of the loan.
Amendment 447 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point j b (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point j b (new)
(jb) receipt by the consumer of a realistic and comprehensive offer, which shall include interest rates and additional costs for ancillary services, thus enabling him or her to compare in real terms the various offers of credit products. The offer shall be valid for not less than two weeks.
Amendment 448 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point j c (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point j c (new)
Amendment 489 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 a (new)
Article 9 a (new)
Unfair commercial practices In order to ensure more effective protection of consumers from unfair commercial practices in the property market, appropriate provisions shall be adopted to ensure: a. the prohibition of securitization of housing contracts and their resale. b. the establishment of maximum limits for mortgage rates, both fixed-rate and floating-rate. c. the establishment of strict penalties for offering misleading and false rates of interest. d. a ban on the conclusion of credit contracts for mortgage loans in a currency other than that in which the consumer is paid. e. the consumer's right to purchase ancillary services from a provider other than that with which the loan has been contracted must not be concealed.
Amendment 636 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – paragraph 1
Article 17 – paragraph 1
1. For the purposes of this Directive, 'advice' constitutes a separate service from the granting of a credit. Such a service can only be marketedmay be provided: a. by Member States and the competent State authorities as 'advice when the remuneration of the individual providing the servicesory services' for citizens, taking into account their interests and their personal financial situation; b. by a private, natural or legal person, as advice, only where his or its independence vis-à-vis the creditors is ensured, specific standards are met and his or its remuneration is transparent and divulged to the consumer before the service is provided.
Amendment 662 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that the consumer has athe statutory or contractual right to discharge his obligations under a credit agreement prior to the expiry of that agreement. In such cases, he shall be entitled to a reduction in the total cost of the credit, such a reduction consisting of the interest and the costs for the remaining duration of the contracThey shall also ensure that creditors do not impose a penalty on the consumer for exercising the right to early debt repayment.