ICBC Reports Strong Mortgage Loan Growth in Jan

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) said Thursday that new mortgage loans in January 2009 amounted to 13.2 billion yuan ($1.93 billion), or 20 percent of the total in 2008.

The bank said the strong demand for mortgage borrowing at the beginning of 2009 resulted from the government's economic stimulus package which, among other things called for a series of interest rate reductions.

The rate cuts have trimmed an average 500 yuan from a monthly mortgage repayment of 3,500 yuan.

In addition, ICBC said it will offer interest rates discount of up to 30 percent to mortgage loans for the purchase of properties in the secondary market.

Source: CRIEnglish