Index hits another record low
By MortgageDaily.com staff
7/1/2003

Adjustable rate mortgages that use a popular west coast index got another breather in May.

The monthly Cost of Funds Index (COFI) hit another record low for May, sinking to 2.13 percent.

May marks 12 straight months of decline for the index, which has, in each of its last 12 months, reached a new record low, hovering below any number recorded since the index's inception in July of 1981. May's rate is 78 basis points lower than April's 2.208 percent.

The last month in which the COFI was calculated above the prior month's rate was June 2002, when the COFI was reported at 2.847 percent.

The COFI is issued monthly and represents the Monthly Weighted Average Cost of Funds Index for 11th District Savings Institutions. It is reported by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and is used to calculate many adjustable-rate mortgages, though it is not in itself an interest rate but is rather the average interest paid by savings institutions previously described.

For May, average total funds were reported up slightly over April, 375.8 billion to 374.3 billion . Average deposits were slightly higher, as were average other borrowings, the bank said. Average advances followed their trend downward, with reported totals at 80.5 billion, off from 82.3 billion in April.

Last week's one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.45 percent, according to Freddie Mac, with 0.6 discount points.

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