Key Mortgage Rate Extends Upward Climb

The 11th District cost of funds--the rate to which many adjustable-rate home mortgage loans are tied--rose to 4.967% in February from 4.901% in January, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco reported. It was the rate’s seventh consecutive monthly increase. The rate, which tends to lag changes in market interest rates by several months, stood at 4.562% a year earlier. The rate measures the average cost of funds for the thrifts and other financial institutions in the bank’s 11th District, which includes California, Arizona and Nevada.