Major commercial banks to slash mortgage rates

China's major commercial banks are set to lower the existing mortgage rates starting Oct 25, bank statements said on Saturday, as part of a swift implementation of the country's recent policy package designed to stimulate the economy.

The four biggest commercial banks, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China, said they will adjust interest rates on existing mortgages to align with the loan prime rate (LPR) minus 30 basis points.

The five-year LPR, which serves as the benchmark for mortgage rates, now stands at 3.85 percent.

The rate reduction excludes mortgages that already benefit from an LPR-30bp rate and second homes in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, Guangdong province, where the existing mortgage rates will be reduced to the local lower limit of mortgage rates.

Yan Yuejin, vice-president of the Shanghai-based E-House China R&D Institute, said the announcements indicate that the nationwide reduction of existing mortgage rates has officially begun, in a bid to help mitigate the rush for early home loan repayments and driving up consumer spending.