The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has welcomed the Irish Presidency’s announcement that agreement on the EU Mortgage Credit Directive has been reached and that the scope of the new rules is unlikely to cause problems for domestic lenders.

The proposed rules sit alongside consumer protection measures due to be introduced in the UK by the FCA’s new Mortgage Market Review (MMR) rules.

CML director general Paul Smee said: “The government, FCA and the industry have worked positively together to ensure that the new rules will broadly suit the UK mortgage market and appear unlikely to cause problems for lenders.

“There will inevitably be additional work for both regulators and lenders to ensure that the requirements are fully reflected in UK rules, especially as they come hot on the heels of the implementation of the FCA’s new domestic requirements for mortgages.

“UK customers already receive significant consumer protection and information as our regulatory regime is already the most advanced among European member states, but for customers in some other member states the changes will result in increased protection and greater consistency.”