BANKING & FINANCE - Oct. 1, 1996

Key Mortgage Rate Turns Higher: The 11th District cost of funds--the rate to which many adjustable-rate home mortgage loans are tied--rose to 4.839% in August from 4.819% in July, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco reported. It was the rate’s first monthly increase since November, when it edged up to 5.119% from 5.116% the previous month. The rate, which tends to lag current market interest rates by several months, measures the average cost of funds to the thrifts and other financial institutions in the bank’s 11th District, which covers California, Arizona and Nevada.