The central bank yesterday said that it had met with 36 local lenders and the National Federation of Credit Cooperatives to make sure they comply with credit control measures when processing mortgage applications.
The central bank made the closed-door meeting known in a statement yesterday to highlight its resolve to cool the local property market.
Housing transactions last month surged 28 percent month-on-month to 21,385 units in the nation’s six special municipalities, as negative effects of a local COVID-19 outbreak faded.
Photo: Hung Jui-chin, Taipei Times
The central bank reminded lenders to stand by its ban on grace periods for purchases of second homes in the six special municipalities, as well as in Hsinchu county and city.
The removal of grace periods on Friday last week and two previous waves of credit controls were intended to prevent funds from flowing into the local property market, which has seen a boom amid global monetary easing, central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said.
The policymaker also urged lenders to implement risk pricing practices and avoid cutthroat competition to win customers.
Lenders should also warn borrowers of potential interest rate increases when global central banks reverse their loose monetary policy stances, the central bank said.
The US Federal Reserve has indicated that it plans to taper its bond purchasing program later this year and raise interest rates as the US economy emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yang on Thursday said that credit controls are not effective in curbing housing transactions, though they have achieved the goal of maintaining the nation’s financial stability.
Housing transactions in Taipei last month soared 28 percent month-on-month to 2,487 units, while Taoyuan and Taichung reported advances of 26 percent and 37 percent to 3,757 and 4,011 units respectively.
Housing deals in Tainan and Kaohsiung advanced 19 percent and 41 percent each to 2,221 and 3,677 units respectively.
Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) said the market would need more time to assimilate the ban on grace periods.
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