China tightens property loans

China's central bank is requiring banks to charge higher mortgage rates and take higher down payments in an effort to rein in China's runaway real estate market. The central bank said commercial banks should raise property down payments from 20% to 30% in cities where lenders believe property prices have been rising "too fast". Commercial lenders are barred from lowering interest rates on consumer housing loans to below 0.9% of the People's Bank of China's benchmark rates.