Shou Xiaoli (photo by Luan Haijun)
Shou Xiaoli, Director of the Information Bureau and Spokesperson of the Information Office of the State Council: Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon! Welcome to the second regular briefing on State Council policies this afternoon. Today, we invite Mr. Dong Jianguo, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Mr. Liu Guohong, Vice Minister of Natural Resources, Ms. Tao Ling, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China, and Mr. Xiao Yuanqi, Deputy Director of the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration, to introduce the relevant situation of "effectively doing a good job in supporting policies for ensuring the delivery of housing" and answer your questions. Next, we would like to invite Mr. Dong Jianguo to make an introduction.
Dong Jianguo (photo by Xu Xiang)
Dong Jianguo, Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development: Thank you, host. Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon! It's great that we're here to meet you. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to real estate work. On April 30, the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee emphasized that it will continue to adhere to the city-specific policies, consolidate the responsibilities of local governments, real estate enterprises and financial institutions, and earnestly do a good job in ensuring the delivery of housing to protect the legitimate rights and interests of home buyers. Comrade He Lifeng, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, attended the meeting and delivered a speech, making comprehensive arrangements for the work of ensuring the delivery of housing and putting forward clear requirements. In the near future, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the People's Bank of China, and the State Administration of Financial Supervision will issue relevant supporting policy documents. In a moment, I and the responsible comrades of the relevant departments will answer your questions on the policy document. Below, I will give you a brief introduction to the key points of the work of guaranteeing the delivery of housing: First, we will do a good job in the battle of ensuring the delivery of commercial housing projects and prevent the risk of unfinished work. In accordance with the principles of marketization and rule of law, classify and dispose of commercial housing projects under construction that have been sold but not delivered, promote the construction and delivery of projects, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of home buyers. The second is to further play the role of the coordination mechanism of urban real estate financing to meet the reasonable financing needs of real estate projects. The city government promotes the projects that meet the conditions of the "white list" to "make every effort to advance", and commercial banks "lend as much as possible" to the projects that comply with the "white list" to meet the reasonable financing needs of projects under construction. The third is to promote the digestion of the stock of commercial housing. The city government adheres to the principle of "purchasing according to demand", and can organize local state-owned enterprises to purchase a part of the stock of commercial housing at a reasonable price for use as affordable housing. Fourth, it is necessary to properly dispose of and revitalize the stock of land. At present, the stock of land that has not yet been developed or has been started but not completed shall be properly disposed of and revitalized through government recovery and acquisition, market circulation and transfer, and continued development of enterprises, so as to promote real estate enterprises to alleviate difficulties and reduce debts, and promote the efficient use of land resources. In the next step, our ministry will work with relevant departments to conscientiously implement the spirit of the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, in accordance with the deployment requirements of the State Council, earnestly do a good job in ensuring the delivery of housing, promote the delivery of projects on time and with good quality, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of buyers. Thank you. Shou Xiaoli: Next, we would like to invite Ms. Tao Ling to make an introduction.
Tao Ling (photo by Xu Xiang) Tao Ling, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China: Good afternoon, media friends! Thank you for your long-term attention, support and supervision of the work of the central bank. In recent years, the People's Bank of China has conscientiously implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and implemented comprehensive policies from both the supply and demand ends to promote the smooth operation of the real estate market. On the supply side, the "16 Financial Measures" and "Second Arrow" were introduced, the operating property loan policy was optimized, and structural monetary policy tools such as the loan support plan for guaranteed delivery of real estate, the bail-out re-loan for real estate enterprises, and the rental housing loan support plan were introduced. On the demand side, the down payment ratio of personal housing loans and the lower limit of the interest rate policy will be lowered to guide the loan market prime interest rate downward and reduce the interest rate of the existing first home loan. In order to promote the construction of a new model of real estate development, a new 500 billion yuan of mortgage supplementary loans will be added to support the construction of "three major projects" such as affordable housing, and the housing rental financial policy system will be improved. Recently, the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee proposed to study and digest the stock of real estate and optimize the policy measures of incremental housing, which is a major decision made by the central government in combination with the new changes in the supply and demand relationship of the real estate market and the new expectations of the people for high-quality housing. The People's Bank of China has stepped up its efforts to conscientiously implement it, and based on the central bank's monetary policy and macro-prudential management functions, it has introduced the following four policy measures: First, set up a 300 billion yuan affordable housing reloan. Encourage and guide financial institutions to follow the principles of marketization and rule of law to support local state-owned enterprises to purchase completed and unsold commercial housing at a reasonable price for placement or rental affordable housing, which is expected to drive bank loans of 500 billion yuan. The second is to reduce the minimum down payment ratio of personal housing loans at the national level, adjusting the minimum down payment ratio for the first home from no less than 20% to not less than 15%, and the minimum down payment ratio for the second home from no less than 30% to not less than 25%. The third is to cancel the lower limit of the interest rate policy for personal housing loans at the national level. The interest rate of the first home and the second home loan will no longer set the policy lower limit, and the mortgage interest rate will be marketized. After the adjustment of the above-mentioned down payment ratio and mortgage interest rate policy, all localities can independently determine the minimum down payment ratio and the lower limit of the mortgage interest rate for the first and second homes in their jurisdictions according to the city's policies, and may no longer set the lower limit of the interest rate. Fourth, the interest rate of housing provident fund loans of various maturities was lowered by 0.25 percentage points. After the adjustment, the interest rate of the personal housing provident fund loan for the first house of more than five years is 2.85%, which can better meet the housing needs of the housing provident fund depositors. In the next step, the People's Bank of China will continue to conscientiously implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, guide financial institutions to implement policies in accordance with the principles of marketization and rule of law, promote the construction of a new model of real estate development, and promote the high-quality development of real estate. Thank you.
Shou Xiaoli invites reporters to ask questions (Photo by Luan Haijun) Shou Xiaoli: Let's go to the question session, please inform your news organization before asking questions. Please raise your hand and ask questions.
Economic Daily reporter asked a question (photo by Liu Jian) Economic Daily reporter: The first question I want to ask Dong Jianguo, vice minister of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. Just now you mentioned that it is necessary to do a good job in the battle of ensuring the delivery of commercial housing projects. What is the background of this work? What are the considerations of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development? Thank you. Dong Jianguo: Thank you for your question. At present, the relationship between supply and demand in the real estate market has undergone major changes, the real estate market is in the process of adjustment, and some commercial housing projects under construction and sold are facing delivery difficulties. If the sold housing project is not completed, it will seriously damage the legitimate rights and interests of buyers and affect the stable and healthy development of the real estate market. In accordance with the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, in order to effectively do a good job in ensuring the delivery of housing and protect the legitimate rights and interests of buyers, our ministry, together with the State Administration of Financial Supervision and other departments, will introduce a work plan for the tough battle of guaranteed delivery of housing for urban commercial housing projects, and the work plan will focus on three aspects of requirements: First, to do a good job in ensuring the delivery of housing, we must take the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of buyers as the fundamental starting point and foothold, and adhere to the principles of marketization and rule of law. We will adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, take multiple measures at the same time, classify and dispose of, do a good job in the battle of ensuring the delivery of commercial housing projects, prevent the risk of unfinished, and promote the delivery of projects on time and with good quality, so that the people can get the houses that have passed the acceptance as agreed in the contract. For those who are still unable to deliver the house after exhausting all means, those who should take the judicial route should take the judicial route, and the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of the buyer should also be put in the first place in the judicial disposal. Second, to do a good job in ensuring the delivery of housing, we must make full use of the urban real estate financing coordination mechanism, and include the project in the "white list" to provide financing support. In January this year, the Ministry of Finance, together with the State Administration of Financial Regulation, jointly issued the Notice on the Establishment of an Urban Real Estate Financing Coordination Mechanism to guide all localities to establish an urban real estate financing coordination mechanism, and put forward a "white list" of real estate projects that can be given financing support, and push it to commercial banks within their administrative regions to support the financing and construction delivery of real estate projects under construction. 297 cities at and above the prefecture level across the country have established a real estate financing coordination mechanism, which should play a strong role in leading and coordinating the delivery of housing. Third, to do a good job in ensuring the delivery of housing, it is necessary to consolidate the responsibilities of local governments, real estate enterprises, and financial institutions. First, local governments should assume territorial responsibilities and promote the coordination and cooperation of departments and courts such as housing and construction, financial management, public security, natural resources, and auditing, so as to perform their duties and form a joint force. Second, real estate enterprises should assume the main responsibility, formulate a "one project, one policy" disposal plan, actively dispose of assets, raise funds from multiple parties, and ensure that the project is delivered on time and with good quality. Third, financial institutions should implement the provisions on due diligence and exemption from liability, so as to "fully lend" eligible projects, speed up loan approval and issuance, and support project construction and delivery. Thank you!
Southern Metropolis Daily reporter asked a question (photo by Liu Jian) Southern Metropolis Daily reporter: This morning, a video conference was held on the work of ensuring the delivery of housing across the country. We understand that it is planned to introduce a policy for the proper disposal of idle land and other stock real estate land. What are the main considerations? What are the highlights of the policy? Thank you.
Liu Guohong (Photo by Xu Xiang) Vice Minister of Natural Resources Liu Guohong: Thank you for your question. The Ministry of Natural Resources conscientiously implements the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and on the basis of extensive research and research, is ready to introduce policies and measures to properly dispose of idle land and revitalize the stock of land, and supports local governments to proceed from reality and properly dispose of the idle stock of residential land that has been transferred by means of recovery and acquisition as appropriate, so as to help enterprises solve their difficulties. At the same time, it promotes the economical and intensive use of land, prevents and resolves risks, and helps the high-quality development of real estate. There are two main lines: one line is to strictly dispose of idle land in accordance with the law, and the other line is to increase support for the revitalization and utilization of stock land. The specific policy highlights can be briefly summarized into the following three aspects: First, support the optimization and development of enterprises. The main purpose is to eliminate obstacles to development and construction, reasonably exempt from liability for breach of contract caused by natural disasters and epidemics, and allow enterprises to reasonably adjust planning conditions and design requirements in accordance with procedures to better meet market demand. The second is to promote market circulation and transfer. It is mainly to give full play to the role of the secondary market of land, support the transfer of advance registration and "transfer with mortgage", and encourage transfer or cooperative development. The third is to support local governments to recover land at reasonable prices. The main purpose is to support local governments to recover idle land at a reasonable price in accordance with the principle of "purchasing according to demand" for the construction of affordable housing. Localities are allowed to adopt a parallel "repossession-supply" approach to simplify procedures, handle planning and land supply procedures, and better provide facilitation services. In addition, in order to implement the main responsibilities of city and county governments and strengthen overall coordination, cities and counties are required to establish a coordinated decision-making mechanism for disposing of idle and revitalizing the stock of land, improve decision-making procedures, improve administrative efficiency, and keep the bottom line of policies. That's all I have to say briefly. Thank you!
Bloomberg News reporter (photo by Liu Jian) Bloomberg News reporter: The Politburo meeting held last month proposed to study policy measures to digest the stock of real estate. Do you have any more details at this time? How exactly will this initiative be promoted? Analysts expect that the funds required for housing destocking will be between 1 trillion yuan and 5 trillion yuan. How much do you think it will cost? Thank you. Tao Ling: Thank you for your question, your question is about how to digest the policy measures of the stock of commercial housing, and this issue is of great concern to all parties. In order to implement the spirit of the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and in accordance with the arrangements of the State Council, the People's Bank of China plans to set up affordable housing re-lending as a newly created structural monetary policy tool. In accordance with the idea of "government-led and market-oriented operation", the People's Bank of China will provide low-cost re-lending funds, and 21 national banking institutions will be encouraged to issue loans to local state-owned enterprises selected by the city government in accordance with the principle of marketization, and support the acquisition of completed and unsold commercial housing at reasonable prices for use as affordable housing. The main points of this policy are as follows: First, the scale of re-lending for affordable housing is 300 billion yuan, with an interest rate of 1.75%, a term of one year, and can be extended four times, and the recipients of the loan include 21 national banks, including the China Development Bank, policy banks, state-owned commercial banks, postal savings banks, and joint-stock commercial banks. Banks issue loans in accordance with the principle of independent decision-making and assumption of risk. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) will issue re-loans at 60% of the loan principal, which can drive bank loans of 500 billion yuan. Second, the acquired commercial housing is strictly limited to the commercial housing that has been completed and unsold by the real estate enterprise, and the real estate enterprises under different ownership systems are treated equally. In accordance with the principle that affordable housing is used to meet the rigid housing needs of wage and salary income groups, the house type and area standards of the purchased commercial housing should be strictly grasped. Third, the city government selects local state-owned enterprises as the acquisition entity. The state-owned enterprise and its affiliated group shall not be involved in the hidden debts of the local government, shall not be a local government financing platform, and shall have bank credit requirements and credit space, and shall be promptly placed or leased after acquisition. Fourth, voluntary participation. The city government decides whether to participate or not based on factors such as local demand for affordable housing and the inventory level of commercial housing. Wage earners who meet the conditions for protection can choose whether to participate in the placement or leasing at their own discretion. The real estate enterprise negotiates on an equal footing with the acquirer and decides whether to sell on its own. In accordance with the principles of risk-bearing and business sustainability, 21 banks made their own decisions on whether to issue loans to the acquirer. This policy is an important measure issued by the People's Bank of China to support the construction of a new model of real estate development, which is conducive to achieving multiple goals through a market-oriented approach. The first is to speed up the destocking of existing commercial housing. Local state-owned enterprises, with the support of banks, participate in the acquisition of completed and unsold commercial housing in a market-oriented manner, which can promote the destocking of the commercial housing market. The second is to speed up the supply of affordable housing. The acquired commercial housing is used as affordable housing for sale or rent, which can better meet the housing needs of wage and salary groups. The third is to help ensure the delivery of buildings and the "white list" mechanism. After the real estate enterprise sells the completed commercial housing, the returned funds can be used to continue the construction of the project under construction and improve the financial situation of the real estate enterprise. For the above policies, the People's Bank of China will issue an official document in the near future, which is the Notice on Matters Concerning the Establishment of Affordable Housing Reloans. It should be noted that according to the deployment of the State Council, the People's Bank of China will set up a rental housing loan support plan in 2023 to support eight cities such as Jinan and Zhengzhou to pilot market-oriented bulk acquisition of housing stock and expand the supply of rental housing. Over the past year, the pilot project has been implemented in eight cities in an orderly manner, and a commercial and sustainable rental business model has taken shape, which has played a positive role in digesting the stock of housing. Taking into account the policy convergence, we will integrate the rental housing loan support program into the affordable housing refinancing policy for management, which will be fully promoted nationwide. Thank you!
The Paper reporter asked a question (photo by Liu Jian) The paper: Since the establishment of the urban real estate financing coordination mechanism, it has been widely welcomed by all parties. All parties are very concerned about how the coordination mechanism works, and how does the real estate project get on the "white list"? Thank you.
Xiao Yuanqi (photo by Xu Xiang) Xiao Yuanqi, deputy director of the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration: Thank you for your concern and attention to the urban real estate financing coordination mechanism. In January this year, together with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, we jointly issued the Notice on the Establishment of a Coordination Mechanism for Urban Real Estate Financing. In the near future, we will also issue the "Notice on Further Giving Play to the Role of the Urban Real Estate Financing Coordination Mechanism to Meet the Reasonable Financing Needs of Real Estate Projects", establish and improve the urban real estate financing coordination mechanism, deeply understand the people's nature and politics of real estate work, continue to adhere to the city-specific policies, take the city as the main body and the project as the center, fully support the financing and completion delivery of projects that should be continued, and do a good job in ensuring the delivery of housing to protect the legitimate rights and interests of buyers. The financing coordination mechanism is headed by the main responsible comrade of the city government, the deputy mayor in charge of urban construction, housing and finance is the deputy leader, and the relevant departments and financial institutions are the member units. The city coordination mechanism is mainly to summarize the situation of real estate projects within its jurisdiction, review the "white list" projects in accordance with the conditions and standards, and urge the relevant parties to increase rectification efforts and effectively solve the corresponding problems to meet the conditions and standards of the "white list" projects. The "white list" is voluntarily declared by the real estate project company, and the district and county of the city where it is located pre-examine and submit the list. The urban coordination mechanism organizes screening and review, and those who meet the conditions and standards are included in the "white list", and those who do not meet the conditions and standards are to implement rectification, promote problem solving, and form a closed-loop management mechanism. In addition, the city coordination mechanism should be responsible for optimizing the supervision process of pre-sale funds and reasonably confirming the amount of pre-sale supervision funds. At the same time, it is necessary to consolidate the responsibilities of real estate enterprises and real estate project companies. Thank you!
Phoenix TV reporter asked a question (photo by Liu Jian) Phoenix TV reporter: We understand that some regions hope to introduce policies to revitalize the stock of land. What are the specific support measures for recovering the stock of land for the construction of affordable housing? Thank you. Liu Guohong: Thank you for your question, this issue is also a matter of great concern to local governments and enterprises. Minister Dong said in his introduction that the Ministry of Natural Resources is ready to issue a policy to explicitly support local governments to recover idle land that enterprises are unable to continue to develop at a reasonable price, or to acquire land that has been auctioned off in judicial and bankruptcy auctions. After the land is recovered and acquired, it will be used for the construction of affordable housing, and can also be used for the construction of public supporting service facilities and the improvement of surrounding residential supporting conditions. Among the specific policies, there are a number of support measures. The first is to increase financial support. Establish a sustainable financial guarantee mechanism, and provide financial support through local government special bonds for the recovered or acquired land used for affordable housing projects. The second is to provide tax support. For the acquisition of commercial housing that has been completed, as well as the recovery and acquisition of stock land for the construction of affordable housing, after confirmation by the municipal and county people's governments, they can enjoy preferential tax policies for affordable housing in accordance with the existing regulations. The third is to simplify the work process. For the acquisition of completed commercial housing or the resumption or acquisition of stock land for affordable housing, the municipal and county governments shall agree to allocate land together when approving the repossession, and implement the parallel handling of "repossession-supply", and the nature of land use rights can be changed and registered as allocated land according to the approval documents. At the same time, the policy also clarifies the requirements for local governments, and the resumption and acquisition of land should be done according to their capabilities, and the balance of project revenue and expenditure should be considered as a whole, so as not to increase the risk of hidden government debt. Thank you!
First financial reporter asked a question (photo by Liu Jian) First financial reporter: We have noticed that many commercial banks have recently expressed their intention to support "white list" projects, and many real estate companies have also said that some projects have been supported. What are the support policies of commercial banks for "white list" projects? Thank you. Xiao Yuanqi: The State Administration of Financial Supervision instructed commercial banks to actively connect with the city coordination mechanism, requiring these banks to establish a four-level linkage rapid response mechanism of the head office, provincial branches, secondary branches and handling banks, forming a four-level linkage rapid response mechanism from the head office to the province, to the prefecture and city, and to the handling bank, and to shorten the time limit for business processing to the greatest extent by adopting the mode of "integration of review". Since January this year, together with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, we issued the Notice on the Establishment of a Coordination Mechanism for Urban Real Estate Financing, and as of May 16, commercial banks have approved the "white list" project loan amount of 935 billion yuan in accordance with the internal approval process. There are mainly measures in the following aspects: First, strengthen organizational leadership. Major commercial banks are required to set up special working groups, led by bank leaders, and corresponding departments such as customer marketing, credit approval, risk management and other departments are all members to form a joint work force. Second, it is required to actively participate in the work of the urban coordination mechanism. Under the overall planning of the coordination mechanism, participate in the review and check in accordance with the corresponding conditions and standards and be included in the "white list" project. Third, establish green channels. Banks are required to optimize the loan approval and disbursement process, appropriately delegate approval authority, speed up lending, and manage project access, rating, credit grant, post-loan and other aspects separately, and allow separate credit lines. At the same time, it is also necessary to formulate specific rules for due diligence and exemption, and exempt grassroots banks and relevant employees from liability if they have performed their duties diligently in accordance with the requirements, as well as those who have incurred risks in loans due to force majeure factors. Fourth, we should make sure that all loans are due. The "white list" projects of real estate enterprises with different ownership systems are treated equally. On the premise of controlling risks, financing support can be provided in a variety of ways, such as new loans, extension of existing loans, and issuance of M&A loans. The loan amount should match the construction cycle of the project, cover the funding gap for the completion and delivery of the project, promote the completion and delivery of the project, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of buyers. Fifth, the "white list" projects should be accounted for separately, operated and managed in a closed manner, and the funds between the projects should not be mixed, and the project funds should not be diverted for other purposes, so as to ensure that the funds are used to ensure delivery. Commercial banks should strictly examine the use and flow of credit funds, and agree with the borrower to open a project fund supervision account with the lending bank to ensure that project capital, loan issuance, payment and disbursement, and loan repayment are handled through the project fund supervision account. The pre-sale fund supervision account of the "white list" project should be opened with the host bank. Thank you.
CCTV reporter from China Central Radio and Television (photo by Liu Jian) CCTV reporter from China Central Radio and Television: My question is addressed to Minister Dong. You have just mentioned the work plan for the delivery of housing projects in urban commercial housing projects, and I would like to ask what specific measures it has and how to implement them? Thank you. Dong Jianguo: Thank you. In the work plan of the battle to ensure the delivery of housing, we mainly consider to do a good job in the battle of ensuring the delivery of housing in urban commercial housing projects through measures such as finding out the base, categorical disposal, judicial support, and establishing a long-term mechanism. The first is to find out the bottom number. The city government should comprehensively investigate the city's commercial housing projects under construction and sold, carry out a large-scale doxxing, lock the projects that are difficult to deliver, accurately grasp the existing problems, and establish a project ledger. The second is classified disposal. In accordance with the principles of marketization and rule of law, the city government should guide the project development enterprise to formulate a disposal plan of "one project and one policy". Marketization is to include eligible projects, or projects that can take market-oriented measures to improve conditions, into the "white list" to provide financing support and promote project construction delivery. The rule of law is to promote the insolvent project to enter the judicial disposal procedure, the bankruptcy of the bankruptcy, and the reorganization of the reorganization. In the disposal, it is necessary to put the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of the buyers in the first place. In this process, it is necessary to resolutely investigate and deal with all kinds of violations of laws and regulations in accordance with the law, and not allow those who violate laws and regulations to "break out of their shells" and not allow acts that harm the interests of the masses to get through in the dark. The third is judicial support. For projects that require judicial disposition, the local people's courts will accept the relevant cases in a timely manner to improve the efficiency of judicial disposition; Prudently take property preservation measures for tough projects to support project construction and delivery. Fourth, establish a long-term mechanism. On the one hand, we will vigorously and orderly promote the sales of existing houses, and support commercial housing projects to meet the sales conditions of existing houses through the "white list" financing policy; On the other hand, for those who continue to implement pre-sale, the pre-sale funds of the project shall be strictly supervised to prevent the emergence of new risks. In order to do a good job in the implementation of the plan, the national, provincial and municipal levels have mobilized capable forces, set up special work teams, implemented centralized office, and coordinated the promotion of work. At the same time, establish an information system for the delivery of housing projects to track the progress of supervision work in a timely and accurate manner. We will make concerted efforts, pay close attention to implementation, and concentrate our efforts and time to fight a tough battle to ensure the delivery of housing. Thank you! Shou Xiaoli: This is the second press conference this afternoon, and for the sake of time, we would like to ask two last questions.
A question from a reporter from the American International Market News Agency (photo by Liu Jian) A reporter from the American International Market News Agency: The "white list" is one of the key financing channels for real estate companies. What is the progress and scale of the approval of the second batch of "white lists"? What are the follow-up support measures for the financing of the real estate industry? Thank you. Xiao Yuanqi: Thank you for your question. Since we established the mechanism in late January this year, as of May 16, in less than four months, the amount of loans approved for "whitelist" projects has reached 935 billion yuan. The main ways and channels of bank financing for the real estate industry are as follows: First, the development loans to real estate enterprises are mainly used for the development and construction of real estate projects. In the first quarter of 2024, the balance of real estate development loans was 12.8 trillion yuan. Second, mortgage loans to individuals are mainly used to purchase housing. The balance at the end of the first quarter was 38.3 trillion yuan. Third, operating property loans, M&A loans, and housing lease loans, which add up to a balance of 3.3 trillion yuan. In addition, there is also bond investment, at the end of the first quarter, the balance of real estate enterprise bonds held by banks was 428.2 billion yuan. At the same time, the bank also provides supply chain financing to upstream and downstream real estate enterprises. For example, material suppliers, construction companies, etc. As an example, at the end of the first quarter, the balance of loans in the construction industry increased by 10% year-on-year. It can be seen that in the past period of time, the sales of the real estate industry have declined, and other financing channels have decreased, but the financing of the real estate industry by banks has maintained a steady and increasing trend. In the near future, we will also intensify our efforts to focus on the following aspects: First, keep real estate financing stable and rising. We will continue to implement the "16 Financial Measures" and stabilize the investment of real estate funds. On the one hand, it supports the reasonable extension of stock financing. As of the end of March, the balance of real estate development loan rollover increased by 147% year-on-year, and the loan maturity of existing real estate loans continued to be extended. On the other hand, we will actively do a good job in the provision of new credit for real estate. In the first quarter of this year, commercial banks issued 963.6 billion yuan of new real estate development loans and 1.3 trillion yuan of new personal housing loans, both of which were up from the fourth quarter of last year. The average interest rates of the first home loan and the second home loan decreased by 0.43 percentage points and 0.75 percentage points respectively over the same period last year. The second is to meet the reasonable financing needs of real estate enterprises and real estate projects under different ownership without discrimination, treat real estate enterprises and real estate projects under different ownership equally, and make reasonable assessments and actively support them in accordance with the principles of marketization and rule of law. The third is to establish financial products and financial service systems that are compatible with the new model of real estate development. In response to the new changes and new characteristics, financial institutions are required to upgrade and transform in product development, approval process, risk management, customer relationship management, etc., to provide financial products and financial service systems that are more in line with the new model, and to improve the pertinence and effectiveness of real estate financing and financial services. Fourth, we will work with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other departments to fully promote the implementation of the urban real estate financing coordination mechanism. I've just introduced this, so I won't repeat it. Thank you! Shou Xiaoli: One last question.
21st Century Business Herald reporter asked a question (photo by Liu Jian) 21st Century Business Herald reporter: Just now Governor Tao introduced the central bank's recent support policies for both ends of real estate supply and demand. Thank you. Tao Ling: Thank you for your question. At noon today, the People's Bank of China has published 3 official documents on its official website, which may be what you are concerned about, and I will introduce them here. In addition to providing low-cost policy funds through structural monetary policy tools, the PBOC's main responsibility for real estate work is the macro-prudential management of real estate finance, with a focus on reasonably determining the down payment ratio and interest rate level of individual housing loans. In accordance with the unified deployment of the State Council, the People's Bank of China has further adjusted and optimized the following policies: First, the minimum down payment ratio for housing loans has been lowered by 5 percentage points. In August 2023, according to the deployment of the State Council, the People's Bank of China unified the minimum down payment ratio policy at the national level to 20% for the first house and 30% for the second house. On this basis, each locality independently determines the lower limit of the policy according to the city's policies. At present, except for 8 cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, other cities have chosen to implement the national bottom line policy of 20% and 30%. This time, we have reduced the minimum down payment from 20% to 15% for first home loans and from 30% to 25% for second home loans at the national level. After the adjustment, the city government can still implement policies according to the city. On the basis of the lower limit of the down payment ratio determined by the city government, the commercial bank can independently determine the specific down payment ratio according to the customer's risk profile. After the minimum down payment ratio is optimized, the threshold for residents to buy a house can be lowered, which will help boost housing consumption. The second is to cancel the lower limit of the mortgage interest rate policy at the national level. At present, the lower limit of the national interest rate policy for the first home loan is the loan prime rate (LPR) minus 0.2 percentage points, and the second home loan is LPR plus 0.2 percentage points. This time, the decision will no longer set the lower limit of the interest rate policy for first and second home loans at the national level. For first-tier cities and some hotspot cities, city governments can still implement city-specific policies. Decide the lower limit of the local mortgage interest rate policy. If there is a major change in the relationship between supply and demand in the real estate market in the future, the People's Bank of China will resume the implementation of the lower limit of the policy in a timely manner or guide the city government to restore the lower limit of the policy to adjust supply and demand. After the lower limit of the mortgage interest rate policy is abolished, commercial banks can independently determine the interest rate level according to the risk status of customers, so as to realize the marketization of mortgage interest rates. The third is to reduce the interest rate of provident fund loans by 0.25 percentage points. Currently, the interest rate on CPF loans for first homes over 5 years is 3.1%. This time, the interest rate of provident fund loans of various maturities was reduced by 0.25 percentage points, of which the interest rate of provident fund loans for the first home of more than 5 years was reduced to 2.85%. For the above three policies, we welcome everyone's continued attention. Thank you! Shou Xiaoli: Thank you to all the publishers and journalists for your participation. That's it for today's routine policy briefing, and goodbye, everyone.
Source: China News Network