BANKING & FINANCE - Dec. 22, 1995

Mortgage Rates Rise: Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.23% this week, up from 7.15% last week, according to a national survey released by Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. It was the highest since Nov. 30, when rates averaged 7.33%. As recently as Dec. 15, 1994, rates were at 9.25% before they started falling. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.64%, up from 5.55% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 6.73% this week, up from 6.71% a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.