| China state banks to boost selected property loans
* China big 4 banks agree to give lower rates to first-time home buyers * Big banks agree to give more loans to developers, quicker * Analysts say relaxed bank credit to aid developers, housing market (Add analysts quotes, background) BEIJING, March 2 (Reuters) - China's big four state-backed banks will lend more to qualified property developers to boost entry level housing supply, a statement in the central bank's newspaper on Friday said, a signal that they are ready to ratchet up real estate lending. 9 percent of total new loans of the year, according to central bank data. In 2010, Chinese banks lent 2. They will also help first-time home buyers by charging them lower rates if necessary, the statement said. Property stocks in Shanghai jumped 2. The big four state-run banks are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd , China Construction Bank Corp , Bank of China Ltd and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd . The core commitments outlined are all consistent with long-standing government pledges to aid first-time buyers get onto the housing ladder, but expectations are running high that lenders will go further than basic requirements to aid offset the drag on economic growth that real estate tightening causes. According to the statement published on the front page of Financial News, a paper run by the People's Bank of China, the big four banks "will proactively support qualified property developers to develop common commercial housing that is in demand to boost effective supply of common commercial housing. If property developers and first-time home buyers find it easier to get bank loans, China's housing market could rebound sharply, especially in second and third-tier cities,ua said. "The banks' decision is in line with the trend of (expectations of) property control relaxation -- China's property policy tightening cycle has peaked,"ua Zhongwei, an economist withuachuang Securities in Beijing, said. Chinese banks extended 1. CURBING SPECULATION For two years, China has restricted bank lending to the real estate sector and limited citizens' capability to buy multiple homes, or homes in other cities, to curb speculation in high-end housing that saw prices in key cities double between mid-2009 and the end of 2010. The measures depressed property trading turnover across the country, reduced land sales revenues for local governments, and forced banks to give up lucrative lending business. Local governments from Shanghai to Wuhu have tried to "fine-tune" policies laid by the central government, forcing China's housing ministry to step in and restore controls. 02 trillion yuan to developers and home buyers, or 26. Beijing has repeatedly vowed to keep the control measures and bring home prices back down to what Premier Wen Jiabao has described as a "reasonable level", but property developers, local governments and banks are trying to get around the rules. Li Shaoming, a home analyst with China Investment Securities in Beijing, said while banks would increase lending to low-margin and relatively cheap apartment projects, they will be less generous to high-end projects such as expensive villas. 5 percent of total new loans, to property developers and home buyers in 2011. |
Friday 2 March 2012
China state banks to boost selected property loans
