Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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49. To ask the Minister for Finance the action he is taking at EU level to promote the need for persons living in one EU member state to be allowed to purchase financial services products such as home loans and business loans from financial institutions based in other EU member states; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42280/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The EU treaties provide for the free movement of capital and services between EU Member States.  As part of this EU common market for financial services, the “passporting” provisions in the Capital Requirements Directive IV (as transposed in Ireland through the European Union (Capital Requirements) Regulations 2014 - SI 158/2014), enable a licensed credit institution in another EEA jurisdiction to offer banking services/products to Irish residents.  (In this context it should be noted that all Central Bank consumer protection requirements apply equally to credit institutions ‘passporting’ in from another EEA member state as they do to an Irish incorporated credit institution.)  Likewise, there is no general restriction on Irish residents obtaining banking services/products from non-Irish credit institutions.

However, despite these free movement provisions differences remain between the credit and financial markets of Member States, and the EU has taken some further steps to more positively promote a closer level of convergence of such markets and associated services through the approximation of certain laws and the establishment of certain standards in the provision of services, consistent with a high level of consumer protection.  For example, the 2014 Mortgage Credit Directive (as transposed in Ireland by the European Union (Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements) Regulations 2016 - SI 142/2016) provides for common minimum (and in some instances maximum) standards and requirements in the provision of residential mortgage credit (and also in the provision of mortgage credit intermediation services) to consumer borrowers in the EU and the 2008 Consumer Credit Directive (as transposed in Ireland by the European Communities (Consumer Credit Agreements) Regulations 2010 - SI 281/2010 as amended) provides for a similar common framework in respect of unsecured consumer lending.  Also the EU Payment Accounts Directive (as transposed by the European Union (Payment Accounts) Regulations 2016) and the SEPA Regulation (EU Regulation No 260/2012) have been enacted, with the latter providing that a payment account in any Member State can be used for credit transfers and direct debits in any other Member State. 

Also, in 2015 the European Commission launched its Capital Markets Union Action Plan that set out a programme of 33 measures, focused on 6 objectives, which aim to establish the building blocks of an integrated capital market in the European Union (EU) by 2019.  Solid groundwork has been completed to underpin proposals to encourage retail investment EU-wide, such as the recent legislative proposal on pan-European personal pensions.

However, the level and scope for the further integration of credit and financial markets is being kept under review.  Specifically in relation to mortgages, the Mortgage Credit Directive requires the European Commission to consider the effectiveness and appropriateness of the provisions on consumers and on the internal market by 2019.  More generally, it could be noted that last March the Commission also presented its Consumer Financial Services Action Plan and this sets out further possible ways to provide consumers of financial services with greater choice and better access to retail financial services across the EU.