MAJOR Chinese lender Ping An Bank has put 41 firms on a list of developers eligible for its funding support, according to sources familiar with the matter, the latest move in a widening rescue campaign for the nation’s property sector.

The bank decided to adjust criteria related to extending credit lines in order to meet builders’ reasonable funding demand, a task set out in a major annual government economic conference last month, said the sources who requested anonymity discussing private matters. The changes involve areas including risk assessment and approval procedures.

More than half of the builders on the list are state-backed companies including Poly Property Group and Beijing Urban Construction Group, according to the sources. The rest cover private-sector peers such as Longfor Group Holdings, China Vanke and Gemdale. Ping An Bank distributed the list to its departments and branches earlier this month, the sources added.

The list offers a fresh example of how financial firms are responding after Beijing stepped up efforts to ease a cash crunch among builders, as an unprecedented housing slump worsens. It also coincided with a move by the authorities to call on local governments to better support developers’ financing needs, including drafting a list of projects eligible for funding.

Ping An Insurance (Group), the parent of Ping An Bank, had previously said it is trying to reduce exposure to the sector, and regulators have been encouraging insurers to focus on their core business. The latest list marks a shift in strategy and may see other banks follow suit.

The bank told its departments and branches that they should extend full lending support to developers on the list operating normally, and refrain from cutting or suspending credit lines, said the sources. The lender also urged them to use maturity extensions and rescheduling payment arrangements to alleviate builders’ liquidity pressure, the sources added.

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A representative at Ping An Bank did not respond to a request for comment.

Ping An Bank ranked as the country’s 13th-biggest bank by assets last year, according to local media citing a league table from the China Banking Association.

Its list also includes local builders such as Hangzhou Binjiang Real Estate Group and Greentown China Holdings, as well as Hong Kong developers including New World Development and Sun Hung Kai Properties.

Greentown declined to comment, while Vanke, Longfor, Gemdale, Poly Property, Hangzhou Binjiang, New World Development and Sun Hung Kai did not immediately reply to the request for comment. BLOOMBERG