Commercial banks in Beijing are tightening their first apartment loan policy and adopting a stricter qualification check on clients who want to buy a second apartment, insiders said.

An employee of a China Construction Bank branch, who declined to be named, said since November 2009, clients applying for mortgage loans can only enjoy a 10 percent discount if their down payment is 20 percent. Only when they pay 40 percent of the down payment can they get a 30 percent discount.

And customers at the Bank of China can only get discounts of as much as 15 percent instead of the standard 30 percent, Xinhuanet.com reported.

However, an employee surnamed Liu from the China Merchants Bank in Beijing told METRO they were still offering unchanged loans to their customers, but the rate is expected to drop by 5 percent in February.

"Even for those who just filed an application, they might have missed their last chance since they have to go through all the negotiations with the real estate developers," Liu said.