China Central Bank Asks Banks to Approve Mortgages in Timely Way

China’s central bank asked the nation’s biggest lenders to grant mortgages in a more efficient and timely way, as leaders seek to address a cooling in the nation’s property market.

The People’s Bank of China told 15 banks including Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and China Construction Bank Corp. at a meeting on May 12 to “improve efficiency of service, give timely approval and distribution of mortgages to qualified buyers,” the central bank said in a statement posted on its website yesterday.