Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news

As of July 1, the Bank of China (BOC)'s Shanghai branch has increased penalties on mortgage holders who repay loans ahead of schedule within one year of borrowing, today's Shanghai Youth Post reported.
Mortgage holders with the BOC's local branches will have to pay the equivalent of six-months interest as a penalty on the amount of money they repay ahead of schedule in the first year.
Previously, such mortgage holders only needed to pay one-month of interest rate equivalent as a penalty.
Raising the fines by a factor of six indicates that the bank is strengthening measures to curb property speculators, said an industry analyst.
Other banks also have their own measures to discourage speculation.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Minsheng Banking Corporation require mortgage holders to pay five percent of the amount they repay before schedule in the first year as a penalty. For the Bank of Communications, the penalty stood at one percent as of the second half of last year.
China Merchants Bank and China Construction Bank have a blanket-ban on people repaying money ahead of schedule within the first year.