Underwater Mortgages Force China’s Banks to Get More Creative

Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the worldAmericas+1 212 318 2000EMEA+44 20 7330 7500Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the worldAmericas+1 212 318 2000EMEA+44 20 7330 7500Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000China’s Property Crisis:The semi-abandoned “Life in Venice” housing complex in Qidong. China is facing its longest property downturn on record, with home prices down sharply from peak levels.Source: BloombergLenders are trying to prevent defaults and foreclosures that risk deepening the country’s housing crisis.China’s unrelenting housing downturn is forcing the country’s banks to confront a thorny issue: sinking real estate values are pushing millions of mortgages underwater, increasing the risk of losses for lenders and property owners. Behind the scenes, Chinese bankers and officials are getting creative to contain the fallout.