Abstract

The article investigates the provisions about the foreign currency loans contained in the Directive 2014/17/UE on credit agreements for consumers relating to residential immovable property. In particular, the paper addresses the following questions: the factors through which this kind of credit is deemed risky for the consumer and the objectives pursued by the European legislator; the instruments that aim to protect the consumer from the exchange rate risk, such as the right to convert the credit agreement into an alternative currency or the use of some specific financial contracts; the application to foreign currency loans of the law on unfair terms in consumer contracts, in the light of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice.