BEIJING, Jul. 29 -- China's banking regulator said it will step up monitoring of loans to local government financing platforms and the property market in the second half of the year.

Banks should not give loans to new platforms and new projects that are not in accordance with requirements, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said in a statement on its website Wednesday.

The National Audit Office estimated last month that local governments had borrowed a total of 10.7 trillion yuan ($1.66 trillion) as of the end of last year.

The Chinese government has said it will clear up and better regulate local government financing platforms and reiterated that risks from these platforms were manageable.

The regulator also said in the statement that it will continue its monitoring of property lending and keep alert of housing market risks in second and third-tier cities and commercial properties.