China restricts mortgage loan commissions

China has instructed banks to halt paying commissions for bringing mortgage loan customers, the Wall Street Journal reported. The China Banking Association said Wednesday that the new guideline has been in effect since January 1, but the announcement was made after a surprise decision by the central bank to tighten reserve requirements for commercial lenders as Beijing starts trying to dampen an overheated property market. "High commissions paid by banks to real-estate agents have seriously disturbed the markets," the assocatiion said in its statement. Previously agents could receive between 1.2% and 1.5% of a home’s value from banks in exchange for a new mortgage. The assocatiation did not specify whether violators would be penalized.