Individual mortgage loans soared to a record in January as banks extended lots of credit to home buyers who rushed to take advantage of last-minute preferential policies in December, the central bank's Shanghai headquarters said Friday.

Individual mortgage loans totaled 19.6 billion yuan (US$2.87 billion) in January, a whopping 19.1 billion yuan more than a year ago, the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China said in a statement.

Among the loans were 10.3 billion yuan in new-home mortgages and 9.3 billion yuan in mortgages for second homes.

"Lots of home buyers dashed to apply for mortgages at the end of last year to enjoy the preferential policies, making the mortgages extended in January soar to a record," the central bank said.

In general, it takes about two weeks for a bank to issue a mortgage after someone signs a contract.

The December home buyers took advantage of the last-minute low tax on second homes bought between two and five years ago. Mortgage policy was also looser that month, granting easy access to low-interest loans with smaller down payments.

"New deals signed dropped sharply in January when compared with the year-end hustle," a credit officer said.

Lenders including Bank of China and Bank of Communications halted the easy access of 30 percent discounts on interest rates this month.

Individual mortgage lending is the most lucrative business in retail banking services.

Auto loans also boomed on China's sizzling auto sales on an improving economic scene.

In total, retail individual loans grew to 21.57 billion yuan as a monthly high, up 20.15 billion yuan from a year earlier.

Banks in Shanghai extended 81.44 billion yuan of new yuan loans in January, down 13.57 billion yuan. Meanwhile, household savings in Shanghai dropped 22.13 billion yuan last month, against a growth of 70.63 billion yuan a year earlier.

"The tumble of household savings is due to the drain of money to the stock market and a late year-end bonus this year," the central bank said.

Companies have a tradition of issuing year-end bonuses before the Lunar New Year, which falls in February this year but January last year.

(Shangai Daily February 13, 2010)