BEIJING: Financial authorities in the Chinese capital of Beijing will launch a city-wide probe into illegal flows of funds from personal loans into the real estate sector, the official Xinhua new agency reported on Sunday.

The Beijing Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau has told all banks to conduct compliance checks on all personal consumption loans and business loans given to individuals since the second half of 2020, Xinhua said, citing an official.

Banks are to immediately rectify any problems uncovered and strengthen internal accountability.

Residential real estate in China's biggest cities, known as tier-1 cities, has seen a wave of buying in recent months, prompting local authorities to step in to contain any froth building up in the market.

On Friday, the Shanghai office of the China Banking and Insurance Commission similarly said commercial banks in the city should check their consumer and business loans, after the financial hub saw its property sales notched a nearly four-year high.