WASHINGTON - Concerns about the pricing and risk of adjustable-rate
"While it's a very competitive market out there, we certainly don't have
Mr. Robinson's comments, which came in an interview this week, were much
Last June, he wrote to many of the nation's largest thrifts, warning
Now Mr. Robinson believes that ARM pricing has moderated.
And thrifts offering ARMs with extremely low teaser rates are balancing
Still he cautioned that it was "too early to tell," how last year's
Mr. Robinson said that his examiners have found "a few cases" where
But "it is not widespread enough to have caused any alarms to go off,"
The loans, most of which are not quite a year old, will not hit their
While there were signs of higher delinquencies in the fourth quarter at
The most important factor in how these loans will perform, Mr. Robinson
"If it gets worse, I guarantee those ARM loans will look bad," he said.
Mr. Robinson also said that he is watching the direction of interest
If rates go up, so will monthly ARM payments for consumers. If they go