BEIJING: China's banking regulator will conduct on-site inspections in the second half to assess how well banks have endorsed property tightening measures, indicating no policy relaxation, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday, July 20.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) will go to banks and check whether their lending procedures comply with rules and how effective their risk management is, particularly whether they have strictly implemented the tightening steps rolled out in the first half, the newspaper cited an unnamed credit officer as saying.

The CBRC has ordered banks to check for themselves during the first half and then submit reports about their property sector lending and lending to local government financing vehicles.

The concern follows a record surge of 9.6 trillion yuan (RM4.56 trillion) new loans last year as part of the government's economic stimulus programme. But the flood of liquidity has also fed into the country's real estate and equity markets, heightening fears of asset bubbles.

Since then, the government has sought to cut back the flow of credit gradually, without causing asset prices to collapse, but some banks have continued to skirt the government restrictions.

"If there is any relaxation, the CBRC will make some arrangement for that. (The on-site checks) mean the policy is not loosened until now," the credit officer added.

China's Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Jiang Weixin has said that China would maintain its tightening campaign, including higher down-payments and mortgage rates, to cool real estate prices. — Reuters
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