FHLB of San Francisco reports index at 1.909%
By MortgageDaily.com staff
12/2/2003

The popular 11th District average cost of funds index, known as the COFI, continued its descent in October.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco reported that the COFI averaged 1.909% in October, falling 1 basis point from the previous month. A year ago, the index stood at 2.708%.

The current level of the index is lower than any other on record at MortgageDaily.com.

The COFI is reported about 30 days following the end of each month and reflects the actual average interest paid in a given month by all the bank's member savings institutions headquartered in California, Nevada and Arizona.

Various sources of funds by these institutions are used to calculate the COFI, said the federal bank. In October, average total funds of $394.6 billion constructed the COFI, compared to $389.5 billion in September.

The COFI competes with the one-year Treasury index for adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs). According to Freddie Mac, the average one-year Treasury-indexed ARM edged up 5 basis points to 3.77% last week. Meanwhile, the ARM share of total home loan applications stands at 27.0%, said the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. The share fell slightly from the previous week's 27.5%, which was the highest ARM share since March 2000.

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