regional, still today euro area housing markets and housing finance are still structurally heterogeneous. there is considerable heterogeneity, for example, in loan characteristics, such as typical interest rate fixation periods, maturities, amortisation requirements and loan - to - value ratios ( slide 4 ). the housing market cycles are also quite country - specific. however, the latest financial crisis hit all markets by and large at the same time, albeit with differing force. now the recovery from the crisis has continued and is becoming more broadly based across countries ( slide 5 ). bis central bankers ’ speeches the rebound in house prices has been strong in several countries ( slide 6 ). the european central bank ’ s estimates of potential over / undervaluation of house prices suggest that while euro area house prices are, on average, broadly in line with fundamentals, some pockets of vulnerability do exist ( slide 7 ). the recovery in house prices and lending has been supported by an improving economic outlook and more favourable financing and lending conditions ( slides 8 – 11 ). however, developments continue to diverge both at country and regional level. housing markets and finance are heterogeneous across the nordic countries, too, albeit these economies are in many other respects quite similar to each other. structural differences exist between countries with respect to lenders ’ business models, typical loan products and the level of household indebtedness ( slides 12 – 13 ). the four countries are also in different phases of their housing cycles, with real house prices rising fastest in sweden and norway ( slide 14 ). some specificities in finland in finland, housing lending is one of the key business segments of universal banks, and the loan market is dominated by the three largest banks. average maturities of housing loans are short in nordic comparison, and non - amortising loans are almost non - existent ( slide 15 ). loans are predominantly tied to variable interest rates and funded mainly by deposits and, increasingly, by covered bonds ( slides 16 – 18 ). over the past 5 years there has been a soft, if lengthy landing in the finnish housing market, reflecting the protracted economic downturn. the housing loan cycle in finland is now passing its second trough after the burst of the global financial crisis ( slides 19 – 22 ). the average interest rate on new housing loans has reached a record low, being the lowest in the euro area ( slides 23 – 25 ). yet, growth in housing lending is only slowly

##ntial powers, covering all key tasks relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions. the ssm possesses also early intervention powers in accordance with the bank recovery and resolution directive. the early intervention powers are significant and make it possible to take action with respect to banks which are approaching the point of non - viability i. e. before a bank is too deeply in trouble to be saved by ordinary supervisory measures. bis central bankers ’ speeches governance of the ssm the governance structure of the ssm has been designed to separate the ecb ’ s monetary policy and supervisory roles, and it also makes the position of different participating countries as fair as possible. the supervisory board is responsible for the supervisory functions of the ssm. while the decisions are formally and finally adopted by the governing council of the ecb, the supervisory board is, de facto, the main decision - making body in supervisory matters. the governing council cannot alter the decisions of the supervisory board, but only prevent their entry into force. such a veto power could be exercised when the decision is seen to be in conflict with monetary policy. new macroprudential role the crisis has shown that micro - prudential supervision at individual bank level is not sufficient, and that macro and micro risks can actually be mutually reinforcing. this calls for very close cooperation between the macro - and micro - prudential functions. the ecb has powers also in the macro - prudential area, which is a shared competence with national macro - prudential authorities. the ecb will be consulted on national measures and it has the possibility to tighten national measures if they are deemed inadequate. macro - prudential instruments could also be applied to the euro - area financial system as a whole. this is completed and supported by the work of another macro - stability authority, the european systemic risk board ( esrb ). while the esrb doesn ’ t have as directly impacting tools, it covers all eu member states and the whole financial system rather than only the banking sector. bank resolution the single resolution mechanism ( srm ) begins its operations as of 1 january 2015. the srm creates a single authority alike the ssm. it consists consisting of the single resolution board and the national resolution authorities. the srm is responsible for swift and orderly resolution of banks in the euro area and participating member states. the srm includes also the single resolution fund at the banking union level. the srm ends the era of the bail - out