For the first time in six months, the 11th District Cost of Funds Index moved lower. A far more widely used index moved the other direction during the same period but has since retreated.
COFI, which is used to determine changes to interest rates and payments on some adjustable-rate mortgages, was 0.687 percent in March.
The index declined from the previous month, when it was 0.700 percent — the highest level for COFI in 11 months.
It was the first decline for COFI since September 2014, when it came in at 0.663 percent.
The index was 0.701 percent in March 2014.
COFI is reported by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco based on interest expense at FHLB-member banks with headquarters in Arizona, California and Nevada.
For March 2015, average total funds used in COFI’s calculation amounted to $15.9 billion.
Most ARMs rely on the one-year Treasury yield to determine rate adjustments.
Data from the Department of the Treasury indicate that the one-year yield climbed to 0.26 percent as of the end of March from 0.22 percent at the end of February.
But the one-year Treasury yield closed out April lower at
0.24 percent.
ARMs accounted for
9.7 percent of all activity in the U.S. Mortgage Market Index for the week ended April 24.
