ICBC will stop lending to developers who hoard

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) said it will halt lending to property developers that are hoarding land and may even call back some loans, in a bid to guard against credit risks.

The world's biggest bank by market capitalisation also reiterated that it planned to increase lending in a reasonable and balanced manner for the rest of the year after lending roughly Y110 billion (Dh50bn) in January.

"The bank will strictly control the quality of new lending, strengthen the management of potential risks and ensure a stable quality of credit assets," said ICBC. It said it would offer loans to major projects under construction, to companies in services and green energy sectors and to drive domestic consumption, and would avoid lending to sectors suffering from overcapacity.

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