Key Mortgage Rate is Revised Upward

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, citing a calculating mistake, corrected its 11th District cost of funds for February to 4.759%, not 4.723% as originally announced Monday. The rate, which tends to lag market interest rates by several months, is used by lenders as the benchmark for many adjustable-rate home mortgages, and it was 4.821% in January. Despite the change, the rate last month stood at its lowest level in more than two years, since it was 4.747% in January 1995. The bank said it “made an error in inputting the data, which resulted in the inaccurate calculation of the index.” The rate measures the average cost of funds to financial institutions in the bank’s 11th District.