McLEAN, Va. - (06/23/06) -- Long-term mortgage rates climbed totheir highest level this week in more than four years, as worriesabout inflation led investors to believe that more Fed rate hikesare on the way, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The average for thebenchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan increased to 6.71% this week,from 6.63% last week; while the average for the 15-year, fixed-ratemortgage jumped to 6.36% from 6.25%. Both were the highest sinceMay 2002. ARM rates also continued to move upwards, with theone-year ARM average rising to 5.75%, from 5.66% last week; and thefive-year ARM average climbing to 6.32%, from 6.23%. "Financialmarkets believe that the current rate of inflation is above theFed's comfort zone, which will lead to more rate hikes in the nearfuture," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac.Investors' expectations that the Federal Reserve will raiseshort-term rates later this month and possibly further later thisyear "caused mortgage rates to jump higher this week," Nothaftadded.
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Beth Johnson, a self-described math geek, is driving the bank's ESG strategy and training its employees to keep pace with industry trends.
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The Cleveland-based bank is projecting steady growth in net interest income even as credit losses remain manageable. But Chairman and CEO Chris Gorman also said that he thinks a recession is likely.
April 18 -
The first-quarter increase involved commercial real estate loans, including some problematic multifamily loans and an office credit, but none of the criticized loans were to consumers, officials at the Dallas company say. Further CRE deterioration is anticipated.
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The Detroit-based company is exploring ways to make more consumer auto loans without running afoul of stricter capital standards that are expected from the Federal Reserve. Possible approaches include more securitizations and the use of credit risk transfers.
April 18 -
The House Financial Services Committee also sent to the full House two bipartisan bills, including one that would prevent large banks from opting out of having to recognize Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in regulatory capital.
April 18 -
Charge-offs and nonperforming loans rose at the Georgia bank in the first quarter. But it blamed the problem on one large client and said the matter has been resolved.
April 18