The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has urged banks to “properly handle” problems associated with mortgage loans and protect the rights of customers while improving risk management.
“All banks must strictly implement the country’s macro control policies over the housing market and local branches should strengthen their inspection of home loans,” it said in a statement on its website.
“Having a third party sign a mortgage loan contract on behalf of another person is a serious offense and banks and financial institutions have to examine their own operations and investigate to find out who is responsible for such offenses,” the statement continued.
The CBRC statement followed the central government’s assurance to stop house price hikes through a set of tightening programmes, including setting differentiated terms for housing loans according to home buyers’ qualifications and home buying limits.
Earlier this year, the State Council increased the minimum down payments for housing loans, in some cases to as high as 60 percent for second-home buyers, and restricted acquisitions of third home purchases in some cities. The programmes are meant to cool the real estate market.