The "big four" State-owned banks are likely to define the second houses on the basis of household ownership.

According to Caijing Magazine, Zhang Qi, deputy manager of the Shanghai branch of the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, said yesterday that the People's Bank of China is leading the four banks to discuss the certification standard of bank loans on a second house the retail banking business forum held in Shanghai. A unified standard will be forthcoming soon.

Buyers of a second residential property are required to make minimum down payments of 40 percent, according to a notice published on the website of the People's Bank of China on September 27. But details concerning how to define a 'second house' have not yet been revealed. Last weekend, China Everbright Bank and Huaxia Bank stated that their definition would be on the basis of individuals. Many small to medium-sized banks followed suit.

Zhang says that a single standard is mandatory and will be enforced in the 'big four' banks. If the standard defines the second house on the basis of household, the four banks will face fierce competition with small and medium-sized banks.

For more details, please read the full story in Chinese (http://www.dfdaily.com/node2/node27/node119/userobject1ai33637.shtml).

(China.org.cn by Li Xiaohua)