This Paper is prepared by the World Bank for the regulators and other mortgage market stakeholders in the countries of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region (ECA) as a means to inform the reader of the commonly available policy options to address the negative effects of the current financial crisis on the housing finance markets. The presented alternatives are intended to mitigate the crisis aftershocks as well as prepare the markets for the inevitable next cyclical events. This Paper offers a number of mortgage crisis prevention and management policy options for the financial sector authorities in ECA countries. These options are presented in the context of the ongoing financial and economic volatility in many European jurisdictions and the impact it has on the housing finance industry and households. In view of the current global economic and financial uncertainties, the interconnectedness of the mortgage market stability and development has become apparent and increasingly important. In part the increased visibility of this sector, which has always enjoyed public and policy attention, is related to the dual nature of the challenges – deteriorating economic conditions of the borrowers are coupled with the institutional and systemic challenges of the marketplace. Several country-specific examples of policy measures are provided at the end and cover Australia, South Korea, Russia, and Serbia, Ukraine, UK and US. While the origins of the 2007 financial crisis are in the US mortgage and financial sectors, its repercussions have been felt throughout ECA region. It has exposed distinct vulnerabilities in local mortgage and housing markets with impact nature and severity dependent on the structure of each country’s financial and mortgage systems.