Top China Mortgage Bank Unfazed by Price Declines

Recent declines in real estate prices will have little impact on operations, said Pang Xiusheng, Chief Risk Officer of China Construction Bank. CCB is China’s leading mortgage lender.

The bank had stopped giving mortgages to buyers of third or fourth homes and kept non-performing loans (NPL) on real estate at 1.97% during the 2nd quarter.

Banking regulator has ordered China’s lenders to conduct stress tests that assume a 60% fall in housing prices in keeping with measures to help cool what was feared to be an overheating property market.

CCB’s $5.24 billion second-quarter net profit reflected an expansion of loans and a recovery of interest margins, beating estimates.

The bank said it would also limit loan growth meant for real estate development to lower than 5 percent this year, amid broader fears that there was a real estate supply glut.

Chinese banks have announced major plans to replenish capital after a lending binge in 2009, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd’s $6.6 billion rights offering.

CCB’s Hong Kong-listed shares are down about 2% so far this year while the benchmark Hang Seng Index has fallen 4%. Bank of America owns a 12% of CCB. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings owns 6%.