Banks appeal for customer loyalty with a mortgage discount

Some banks are starting to offer an exclusive mortgage discount to those who have savings or wealth management investments, a move taken to get in line with the latest lending rules as well as to win customer loyalty, said the Southern Daily on Monday.

Homebuyers with more than 500,000 yuan savings in China Merchant Bank are eligible to a lower mortgage rate equal to 95 percent of the benchmark ratio offered by the bank, according to the report.

Most banks in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong province, limit eligible applicants of their discounted mortgage to customers with savings in the banks or with investments in wealth management products, added the daily.

The mortgage discount is in line with the new lending measures, which were first formally introduced on Sept 30 in a joint announcement by the People's Bank of China, the central bank, and the China Banking Regulatory commission. The mortgage rule came into place on Oct 1.

According to the statement, Chinese citizens who wish to buy a second home and have no extending mortgage can enjoy the same 30 percent down payment required of first-time home buyers. Their mortgage rate can be reduced to as low as 70 percent of the benchmark rate.

Thirteen banks nationwide have offered mortgage rate below benchmark ratio since the implementation, said the report, though none of them cut the rate to less than 90 percent.

Recent easing is aimed at boosting the sluggish housing demand as more cities reported month-on-month price drops in August. Government data showed that out of 70 major Chinese cities, new homes in 68 saw month-on-month price decline in August, compared with 64 in July.

Only five out of the 46 Chinese cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Sanya, still impose home purchase limit, a measure taken in 2011 to cool off the then heated property market.