BANKING & FINANCE - May 20, 1995

Mortgage Rates Decline: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.83% this week, down from 7.87% last week, according to a Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. national survey. The average is the lowest since March 24, 1994, when it was 7.80%. 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 6.10%, down from 6.12% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for people refinancing mortgages, averaged 7.39% this week, down from 7.45% a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.