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Mortgage Rates Defy Fed Bump
Home loan interest rates dip to 3.90%
June 22, 2017
By DAVE FLESSNER Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tribune News Service)
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates dropped slightly this week.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.90 percent, down from 3.91 percent last week. The rate stood at 3.56 percent a year ago and averaged a record low 3.65 percent in 2016.
The 15-year, fixed-rate home loan, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their mortgages, also blipped lower -- to 3.17 percent from 3.18 percent. A year ago, the 15-year rate was 2.83 percent.
The rate on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages decreased to 3.14 percent from 3.15 percent. It was 2.74 percent a year ago.
Mortgage rates have remained low even though the Federal Reserve has been raising short-term rates: The Fed last week ratcheted rates higher for the third time in six months.
Big Banks Clear Fed's Stress Tests
The Fed says all of the 34 largest U.S. banks are fortified enough to withstand a severe U.S. and global recession and continue lending.
The first round of the central bank's annual "stress tests" shows that as a group, the big banks are strong as they've benefited from a steadily recovering economy.
