Millions of families across the EU are in a situation of over indebtedness, millions more don’t have access to a basic bank account, another few million don’t have access to basic loans such as mortgage credit in order to buy a home where they can thrive as a family. Access to housing is a precondition for social inclusion and can be facilitated by various public policies like overarching welfare programmes, but also (public) social housing, intervening in the rental market, or policies on home ownership. For a majority of families, a mortgage is the only way to access home ownership. Yet a mortgage comes with risks like defaulting on the mortgage for various reasons (life accidents, illness, job loss,…). In this regard, the number of non-performing loans is still quite high in Europe.
COFACE Families Europe explored, in the following report, in which way the Danish mortgage system can help families access housing while lowering the risks for both families and financial service providers, balancing the interests of both families (social inclusion), financial service providers (profitability and risk hedging) and governments (social stability).
Download here COFACE Families Europe’s report Social policy and mortgage lending
For more information contact Martin Schmalzried mschmalzried [at] coface-eu.org