China makes biggest-ever cut to key mortgage rate to bolster housing market
CNN
China’s central bank has cut its key mortgage reference rate by a record amount, as it ramps up efforts to stem a prolonged property crisis.
China’s central bank has cut its key mortgage reference rate by a record amount, as it ramps up efforts to stem a prolonged property crisis. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced Tuesday that it would cut its five-year loan prime rate (LPR) from 4.2% to 3.95%, while keeping the one-year LPR unchanged at 3.45%. The 25 basis point cut to the five-year LPR is the biggest reduction the central bank has made since it revamped its LPR system in 2019. That August, the central bank announced that the LPR would become the new reference rates for lending by Chinese banks. The latest cut was also the first reduction to the five-year LPR since June 2023. The LPR is the rate at which commercial banks lend to their best customers. The five-year rate usually serves as a reference for mortgages. “Today’s 25 (basis point) cut to the five-year LPR is clearly aimed at supporting the housing market,” analysts from Capital Economics said in a note on Tuesday.