(5)The European Central Bank decided to introduce credit claims as an eligible type of collateral for Eurosystem credit operations from 1 January 2007. In order to maximise the economic impact of the use of credit claims, the European Central Bank recommended an extension of the scope of Directive 2002/47/EC. The Commission Evaluation Report of 20 December 2006 on the Financial Collateral Arrangements Directive (2002/47/EC) addressed this issue and subscribed to the opinion of the European Central Bank. The use of credit claims will increase the pool of available collateral. Moreover, further harmonisation in the area of payment and securities settlement systems would further contribute to a level playing field among credit institutions in all Member States. If the use of credit claims as collateral were to be facilitated further, consumers and debtors would also benefit as the use of credit claims as collateral could ultimately lead to more intense competition and better availability of credit.