Home loan credit expected to tighten this year

The rising interest rate of home mortgage loans to first-time home buyers in Guangzhou and other first-tier cities has caused concern in the market recently, according to a report by China Securities Daily.

In Guangzhou, the four major State-owned banks - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank - announced at the start of this year the interest rates of home mortgage loans to first-time home buyers would shoot up by 10 percent and 15 percent for second-time home buyers from Feb 1.

Financial information provider Rong360.com's monitoring data showed banks' interest rates of home mortgage loans to first-time home buyers in Guangzhou rose by 5 to 15 percent, the report said.

In Beijing, information from the customer service centers of the four major State-owned banks showed their interest rates of home mortgage loans to first-time home buyers all rose by 5 percent, according to the report.

Among the 29 banks in Beijing monitored by Rong360.com, 11 banks' interest rates of home mortgage loans to first-time home buyers increased by 5 percent and 14 banks' interest rates rose by 10 percent, while the other banks such as Jiangsu Bank and Ping An Bank showed no loan lines. In addition, the interest rates of home mortgage loans to second-time home buyers went up by 10 to 20 percent.

In Shenzhen, 13 banks' interest rates of home mortgage loans to first-time home buyers rose by 10 percent and two banks' interest rates shot up by 15 percent and 20 percent respectively.

The interest rates of home mortgage loans to first-time home buyers of 13 banks in Shanghai witnessed rise, while those of another eight banks maintained benchmark interest rates.

In second-tier cities such as Wuhan and Nanjing, the interest rates of home mortgage loans to first-time home buyers rose by 10 to 20 percent, according to the report.

Lian Ping, chief economist with the Bank of Communications, predicted the interest rates of home mortgage loans in first-tier cities and hot second-tier cities may go up by 15 percent, but a sharp increase in the interest rates of home mortgage loans will not appear, according to the report.

He said the demand for purchasing houses in the first- and second-tier cities is basically rigid under the real estate regulation and for the rigid demand, the interest rate is not likely to rise indefinitely and needs to be controlled at a reasonable level.

Banks in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Nanchang have become prudent in mortgage lending since the start of this year, the report said.

"In the past, not until the end of the first quarter would the loan limit become tight. But the head office has controlled the limit this year. Our branch has no additional in-balance-sheet loan limit in February and March and off-balance-sheet channels have been almost cut down," the president of a joint-stock bank's branch in South China told China Securities Daily.

The branch president said the price of banks' funds has been pushed up and credit would be given to the highest-price-offer.

"As the real estate regulation is still tight, real estate-related loans are affected greatly. The interest rate is expected to continue to rise in the future," the branch president said.

The report said industry insiders predicted banks' credit funds are likely to flow more to advanced manufacturing industry, inclusive finance, small and micro enterprises. In addition, in the retail business, banks may lend more credit resources to credit card and consumer finance to improve return on assets.