More than half of Chinese bankers believe housing prices will decline along with property sales, a report published by China Banking Association Wednesday.

Nearly 70 percent of the respondents, or bankers said housing prices would no longer on the rise, while a sharp correction would be a major risk for banks, according to the report.

The banking industry would be wildly exposed to rising uncertainties, the bankers said, which would be in line with the introduction of a large scale of measures and policies to rein in prices in a sharp correction of housing prices.

The report was based on a survey of over 800 bankers and interviews with more than 70 banking executives from 50 lenders.

By regions, the property market in the east coastal area has been more affected by the governments’ regulatory measures, compared with those in the central, western and northeastern parts of China, the report shows.

65.6 percent of bankers surveyed predicted investments in the property sector in 2011 would “remain stable,” while only 7.9 percent voted “more active”.

More than half of them are concerned over risks posed to the banking industry by local financing vehicles.

The survey showed than 46 percent of bankers were expecting tougher measures to halter local debts, while 26 percent of them anticipated a scale back from current lending volume.

Despite the concern, 38.4 percent said local governments’ efforts to regulate local debts had not yet increased banks’ operational pressures.