Seminar Iberian Responsible Credit and Directive n.º 2014/17/EU

Faculty of Law of the University of Porto

April 9, 2018

 
“The financial crisis has shown that the irresponsible behavior of some market participants can undermine the foundations of the financial system, causing distrust among all parties, especially consumers, with potentially serious social and economic consequences. Many consumers have lost confidence in the financial sector and borrowers are finding it increasingly difficult to repay their loans, resulting in increased defaults and forcible sale of property ”(recital 3, Directive 2014/17 / EU).
It is with this awareness that the European legislator has drawn up new rules for mortgage or other equivalent mortgage-backed credit agreements, housing credit agreements, as well as credit agreements for the purpose of financing the acquisition. or the maintenance of property rights over existing or projected land or buildings transposed into national law by Decree-Law No. 74-A / 2017 of 23 June. Emphasis is placed on the formation of the contract and, even before the conclusion of the contract, the rules governing pre-contractual information and the assessment of consumer creditworthiness and, subsequently, the consequences of default. Also relevant are the limits imposed on contracts under general contractual and interest rate clauses, as well as the passage of time on long-term contracts. These were the subjects developed by the speakers at this seminar, against the background of the 2014 directive and the national law of the two European states represented at the meeting.