The China Banking Regulatory Commission Friday urged banks to have a dynamic and differentiated housing loan policy, as runaway housing prices pressure the central government.

Along with a borrower's credit situation, banks must take market and regional disparities into consideration when deciding home loan interest rates, a statement on the banking regulator's website said.

The banking regulator also vowed to crack down on fictitious residential mortgage loans in a bid to minimize risks.

The Chinese government has raised the down payment for second-home buyers to a minimum 50 percent of the property value from 40 percent in a bid to curb speculation.

The decision was announced in a statement released Thursday, after an executive meeting of the State Council, the Cabinet, presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao, was held Wednesday.

First-home buyers must put down no less than 30 percent of the property price if the home is above 90 square meters in area, the statement said.

Prices for houses in China's 70 medium- and large-sized cities grew 11.7 percent in March from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday in a statement on its website.