BANKING & FINANCE - Dec. 16, 1994

Mortgage Rates Hit 3-Year High: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 9.25% this week, up from 9.15% last week, according to a national survey released by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. It was the highest since Aug. 9, 1991, when the average was 9.27%. The average hit a 25-year low of 6.74% in October, 1993. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 6.75%, up from 6.56% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 8.89% this week, up from 8.77% a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.