The People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced Sunday that it will replace the loan benchmark interest rate with the loan prime rate (LPR) as a benchmark for setting the interest rate of newly issued commercial individual housing loans.
8月25日，中国人民银行宣布新发放商业性个人住房贷款利率的定价基准将由贷款基准利率变换为贷款市场报价利率。
【名词解释】
贷款市场报价利率（loan prime rate，简称LPR）是指由各报价行根据其对最优质客户执行的贷款利率（lending rates for their best customers），按照公开市场操作利率加点形成的方式报价（submit their LPR quotations based on what they have bid for PBOC liquidity in open market operations），由中国人民银行授权全国银行间同业拆借中心（National Interbank Loans Center）计算得出并发布的利率。
目前，商业银行实行的存贷款利率是根据央行公布的存贷款基准利率（benchmark deposit and lending rate）制定的。
Starting from Oct. 8, the interest rate of newly issued commercial individual housing loans will be based on lastest month's LPR of the corresponding term, while certain basis points will be added, the PBOC said in a statement. Housing loan contracts already inked or in implementation will not be affected by the new rules.
央行发布的公告表示，自10月8日起，新发放商业性个人住房贷款利率以最近一个月相应期限的贷款市场报价利率（LPR）为定价基准加点形成。存量个人住房贷款利率不受新政影响。
定价基准转换后，全国范围内新发放首套个人住房贷款利率不得低于相应期限LPR（the housing loan interest rate for first-time buyers should not be lower than the LPR of the corresponding term），按8月20日5年期以上LPR计算为4.85%；二套个人住房贷款利率不得低于相应期限LPR加60个基点（按8月20日5年期以上LPR计算为5.45%），与当前我国个人住房贷款实际最低利率水平基本相当（at the same level of the current lowest personal mortgage loan rate）。
公告表示，人民银行省一级分支机构应按照“因城施策”原则，在国家统一的信贷政策基础上，根据当地房地产市场形势变化，确定辖区内首套和二套商业性个人住房贷款利率加点下限（a basis point addition floor will be decided based on the development of local property markets）。银行业金融机构应根据加点下限合理确定每笔贷款的具体加点数值。
Interest rate policies for individual housing loans via one's housing provident fund will stay unchanged.
公积金个人住房贷款利率政策暂不调整。
央行有关负责人表示，这一调整是为了落实好“房子是用来住的，不是用来炒的（housing is for living in, not for speculation）”定位和房地产市场长效管理机制（a long-term management mechanism for the real estate market），确保定价基准平稳有序转换，维护借贷双方合法权益。