Key Mortgage Rate Hits 4-Year High

The 11th District cost of funds--the rate to which many adjustable-rate home mortgage loans are tied--climbed to 5.002% in March from 4.967% in February, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco reported. It was the rate’s highest level since January 1996, when it stood at 5.033%. The rate, which tends to lag changes in market interest rates by several months, stood at 4.519% a year ago. The rate measures the average cost of funds for savings institutions in the bank’s 11th District, which includes California, Arizona and Nevada.