BANKING & FINANCE - Aug. 14, 1992

Mortgage Rates Hit 19-Year Low: Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.96% this week, down from 8.06% last week, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said. It was the lowest rate since the mortgages averaged 7.89% during the week ended July 6, 1973. It was also the sixth drop in seven weeks. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.30%, the same as last week. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.