Regulator okays CDB's housing finance unit

China Development Bank (CDB) has been approved to open a new business unit to increase its funding for shanty town renovation projects, China's top banking regulator announced Tuesday.

The approval of the CDB housing finance department is part of efforts to implement the State Council's measures to stabilize economic growth and improve people's livelihood, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said in a statement.

The commission will introduce regulation details for the bank's management and risk control of the new department to help accelerate the rebuilding of rundown areas in cities.

Personnel, computer systems and offices are all ready for the housing finance unit to start business soon, according to CDB.

The bank promised to make loans worth 676 billion yuan (110 billion U.S. dollars) available for renovation projects in the first half of the year. So far, 219.5 billion yuan of loans have been granted benefiting 2.13 million households.

Hu Huaibang, CDB chairman, said earlier this year that the bank will look to lend more than 400 billion yuan worth of loans supporting renovation projects.

The renovation of shanty towns was listed as a major part of the Chinese government's plan this year to subsidize the building of 7 million affordable housing units across the country for low-income earners.