China Broadens Real Estate Lending Support to Bigger Cities

(Bloomberg) — China’s efforts to prop up the beleaguered real estate market are expanding to some of the country’s largest cities, with authorities moving to stem the economic damage from the slump.

The Shanghai branch of China’s central bank urged commercial banks to accelerate real-estate loans and ensure growth in both residential mortgages and loans to developers over the next few months, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Meanwhile, banks in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou have started cutting mortgage rates for some homebuyers.