BANKING & FINANCE - Jan. 19, 1996

Mortgage Rates Dip: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.02% this week, down from 7.08% last week, according to a national survey by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. The rate matched the 7.02% average for the week ended Jan. 4. That was the lowest since Feb. 3, 1994, when rates averaged 6.97%. Rates had risen to 9.25% on Dec. 15, 1994, before they started falling. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.48%, up from 5.45% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for people who are refinancing mortgages, averaged 6.53% this week, down from 6.59% a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.