Shanghai banks continue to struggle with new rules on multiple mortgages, with at least two lenders taking opposite views on how spouses should be treated.
The Shanghai branch of China Everbright Bank said each spouse will be treated individually, while Industrial Bank reportedly will consider married couples as a single unit. The country's biggest banks have still not put detailed rules in place.
The People's Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission set out new requirements on multiple mortgages on September 27 in an attempt to discourage speculation and dampen rising property prices.
Mortgage holders who apply for a loan on a second property must come up with a down payment of at least 40 percent - 10 percentage points above the usual requirement - and pay a 10-percent premium on their interest rate.
Commercial banks are required to implement even tougher rules for people seeking a third or fourth mortgage. The central bank allowed the lenders to set their own limits in those cases.
But a central question that apparently was not addressed by state authorities is how to treat married couples.
The Beijing-based Everbright Bank said it will consider only the loan applicant's credit history - and not that of family members.
For instance, if a husband holds a mortgage in his name, his wife can apply for a second home loan and not be subject to the stricter rules.
Everbright Bank will also add two percentage points to the down payment and interest rate premium for each property above the second one. For a third mortgage, for example, the down payment requirement will be set at no less than 42 percent and the interest rate premium at 12 percent.
And Everbright Bank will not offer fixed rates second mortgages and above.
Meanwhile, the Shanghai branch of Industrial Bank will consider the family unit in applying the new loan rules. If one spouse has a mortgage, a new loan by the other will be defined as a second mortgage, the Shanghai Evening Post reported yesterday.