Banks told to act more quickly on home loans

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Commercial banks should set mortgage rates at "reasonable" levels and grant housing loans more quickly, especially for first time buyers, the People's Bank of China said in an online statement on Tuesday.

During a meeting with executives from 15 commercial banks on Monday, the PBOC emphasized that the banks should improve their housing finance services and give priority to loans for first time homebuyers while keeping a closer eye on the associated risks.

"The central bank is aiming to maintain economic stability. The move signals that China is fine tuning its macroeconomic policy rather than adopting strong stimulus policies,” said Yin Zhongli, a financial researcher with the Institute of Finance and Banking at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

He added that whether this so-called "window guidance" by the central bank will avert a plunge in the housing market depends on whether commercial banks implement the policy effectively.

Among banks attending the meeting were Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corp, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and Bank of Communications.

The property market has been cooling down. The latest evidence of the down trend came on Tuesday from the National Bureau of Statistics, which said that housing investment grew 16.6 percent year on year in the first four months of 2014, a decline of 0.2 percentage point from the growth rate of the first quarter.

In the first four months, new housing starts stood at 311.84 million-square-meters, down 24.5 percent year-on-year, the NBS said.

The slowdown in the housing market has already affected downstream industries such as cement, iron and steel.

Analysts said tight mortgage conditions are constraining the market. Banks have been raising mortgage rates for first time buyers or holding off on approvals amid tighter liquidity. Banks have also been reacting to their rising exposure to the property sector in 2013.

Questions:

1. What did People’s Bank of China say in an online statement Tuesday?

2. Who is Yin Zhongli ?

3. How much did housing investment grow, year on year, in the first four months of 2014?

Answers:

1. That commercial banks should set mortgage rates at "reasonable" levels and grant housing loans more quickly, especially for first time buyers

2. A financial researcher with the Institute of Finance and Banking at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

3. 16.6 percent.

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.