Continuing an ugly ascent, the cost of funds index rose 12 basis points during the latest month.

COFI, as it is widely known, averaged 3.190% during November, climbing from 3.074% in October, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco reported Friday. A year prior, the index was 2.025%.

The average hasn't been this high since it was reported at 3.368% for November 2001 -- at which point it was at its lowest level in decades.

COFI, announced about 30 days following the end of each month, is calculated based on the interest expense of savings institutions that are members of the 11th District and headquartered in Arizona, California or Nevada. For the month of November, $583.8 billion in average total funds was used in the COFI calculation.

A more popular index, the one-year Treasury, was 4.35% Thursday, according to the Federal Reserve, a level it has lingered near for over a month.