Mortgage

Residential mortgage loans in negative equity grew by 1,632 cases to 2,568 with an aggregate value of $6 billion in the year's third quarter, according to the Monetary Authority's latest survey.

HSBC's executive director, Peter Wong, says he doesn't think there's room for a cut in mortgage rates, despite a fall of about two percent in the monthly interbank lending rate.

Three local lenders, including BOC Hong Kong (2388), said yesterday they will raise mortgage rates for new home buyers by 50 basis points.

It was a bad weekend for the residential market as secondary-market prices fell by double-digit percentages after Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation announced a plan to raise mortgage rates by 50 basis points effective today.

The US sub-prime experience exemplifies the need for the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation to sustain its clear missions of maintaining financial stability, and providing liquidity to the banking system and a contingency backstop.

New mortgage loans drawn down in July rose 3.6% to $17.3 billion, while new loan approvals fell 16.6% to $18.4 billion, according to the Monetary Authority's latest monthly survey.

HSBC (0005), Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) (0636) and Citibank Hong Kong hiked their mortgages rates by 25 to 30 basis points yesterday, responding to mounting pressure as high funding costs continue to eat into their net interest margins.

Countrywide Financial Corp., the mortgage lender that lost $2.5 billion amid rising defaults and foreclosures, was sued by California and Illinois for allegedly luring borrowers into risky loans they couldn't afford.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Record foreclosures and limited access to credit will make it harder than usual to rebound from this U.S. housing market slump, the worst at least since World War Two, according to a Harvard University study on Monday.

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - China Construction Bank (Asia), the Hong Kong unit of China's top property lender, has raised mortgage rates for new home buyers by 1.0 pct to 2.5 pct, according to information available on the bank's website.