Consumer Credit in the European Union. ECRI Research Report No. 1, 1 February 2000

[From the Introduction]. Economic deregulation in many industrialised countries during the 1980s, the liberalisation of capital movements within the European Union (EU) in 1990, and the establishment of the single market for financial services have radically transformed the regulatory framework of European financial markets. One of the main objectives of the single market programme (1985) was the opening of national markets in order to create a European financial area with the free provision of financial services. Its implementation started in 1993 with the application of the second banking directive.1 In this context, monetary union is often seen as the accomplishment of the process of European financial integration. The elimination of exchange risk should indeed boost cross-border competition. The nature and speed of integration differ between wholesale and retail financial markets. Despite the pressure towards convergence stemming from monetary unification, national differences and market segmentation still characterise retail credit markets across EU member states. A first objective of this study is to compare the structure and developments of consumer credit markets in the EU