As China's economic slowdown continues, weak real estate prices have encouraged many individuals and companies to attempt to invest money offshore in properties in New York, Vancouver and Sydney in order to secure higher returns. The US-based National Association of Realtors reports that Chinese buyers bought $28.6bn worth of US property in 2014, up from $22bn in 2015, making them the country's biggest foreign buyer. Now Europe's biggest lender, HSBC, is reportedly refusing to provide mortgages to some Chinese nationals holding temporary visitor "B" visas attempting to buy real estate in the US, if the majority of their income and assets are maintained in China. This policy change, which has already been implemented by the Canadian arm of HSBC, runs counter to the decisions of many other banks around the world who are eager to lend to wealthy Chinese investors.
As China's economic slowdown continues, weak real estate prices have encouraged many individuals and companies to attempt to invest money offshore in properties in New York, Vancouver and Sydney in order to secure higher returns. The US-based National Association of Realtors reports that Chinese buyers bought $28.6bn worth of US property in 2015, up from $22bn in 2014, making them the country's biggest foreign buyer. Now Europe's biggest lender, HSBC, is reportedly refusing to provide mortgages to some Chinese nationals holding temporary visitor "B" visas attempting to buy real estate in the US, if the majority of their income and assets are maintained in China. This policy change, which has already been implemented by the Canadian arm of HSBC, runs counter to the decisions of many other banks around the world who are eager to lend to wealthy Chinese investors.