France is not typical of EU countries. The United States is unusual in the high proportion of long-term fixed-rate mortgages. Long-term fixed-rate pre-payabl

France is not typical of EU countries. The United States is unusual in the high proportion of long-term fixed-rate mortgages. Long-term fixed-rate pre-payable mortgages used to be the dominant product in Denmark, but low and falling short-term rates have led Danish borrowers to shift to medium-term (one- to five-year) rollover mortgages in recent years. France is the only other country with a majority of fixed-rate mortgages. Unlike the penalty-free pre-payable Danish and U.S. FRMs, French fixed-rate loans have pre-payment penalties (maximum three percent of outstanding balance or three months' interest). German mortgages can be fixed up to 15 years with a 30-year amortization. Quote from "International Comparison of Mortgage Product Offerings" (2010) https://www.mba.org/docs/default-source/research---riha-reports/10122_research_riha_lea_report.pdf?sfvrsn=96779bb4_1 https://www.mba.org/docs/default-source/research---riha-repo...