A report released by China Construction Bank (CCB) found that risk exposure in the country's private mortgage market has increased, Shanghai Securities News reported (in Chinese). Payments on private home loans have increased as the central bank has raised the loan interest rate, with its last rate hike pushing commercial banks' private mortgage business into the high-risk bracket. Private home loans in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and CCB went up from US$135 billion in 2005 to US$156 billion at the end of year 2006. Non-performing loans in the mortagage sector rose from US$2.45 billion to US$2.56 billion over the same period.