The cost of funds index dropped 4 basis points last month.
During January, COFI was 1.786 percent, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco reported today. A month earlier, the index was 1.828 percent.
During January 2009, COFI stood at 2.455 percent.
COFI, which reached an all-time low of 1.259 percent in October 2009, reflects the interest expenses of FHLB San Francisco members based in Arizona, California and Nevada. Average total funds used in last month’s calculation was $37 billion, about the same as the month before.
A more widely used index on adjustable-rate mortgages, the yield on the one-year Treasury bill, finished January at 0.30 percent, tumbling from 0.47 percent at the end of last year. The one-year yield closed at 0.32 percent today.
An index used on subprime ARMs, the six month London Interbank Offered Rate, finished January at 0.38 percent, falling from 0.43 percent at the end of December. LIBOR was 0.39 percent as of Wednesday.
ARM share was 4.7 percent in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended Feb. 19.
