China should establish a national housing bank to optimise use of the country's housing provident funds, according to an article written by an official at the fund and published in the Economic Observer on Sunday.
The bank would offer low interest rate housing loans to help middle and low income home buyers, help bolster demand in a slowing real estate market, and reduce risks for commercial banks, Zhang Qiguang, head of the Ministry's housing provident fund supervision department, said in the article co-authored with Cui Yong, another official at the same department.
The article also suggested the housing fund could support rural workers who are looking for jobs in urban areas by providing funds to help them buy homes.
China’s central bank eased mortgage rules to support the property market in late March. The central bank cut interest rates twice since November and in February it also lowered the bank reserve ratio - the percentage of funds banks must hold in reserve.