Banks in home buyer hotspots............>

CHINA PRESS: Banks in home buyer hotspots including Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou

and Foshan cities have started to cut the mortgage interest rate, 21st Century

Business Herald reported Thursday. It is the first time the cities have seen a

simultaneous mortgage rate move since last year's coordinated hikes that came

when a series of policies were introduced to cool the overheating housing

market.

- A loan manager at Minsheng Bank in Beijing told the paper that the rate for a

first home purchase is now around 5.75%, or 15% above the 4.9% benchmark rate,

compared to around 6% recently.

- However, the rate in other two first-tire cities, Shenzhen and Shanghai

remains unchanged, with no signs of a downward adjustment, the newspaper said.

(Link to the story: https://bit.ly/2JdWXR2)