Interest rates

Borrowers expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next year to contain soaring prices and are locking in favorable terms now, bankers say.

Many banks are still making loans tied to the scandal-plagued benchmark despite years of preparation for its demise. The end of 2021 could prove hectic as bankers scramble to implement changes and explain them to commercial borrowers.

Some progressive lawmakers argue the Federal Reserve’s deregulatory moves under Jerome Powell should disqualify him for a second term as chair. But the Biden administration could let him keep his job because of monetary policies that helped low-income workers.

Federal Reserve officials are moving closer to when they can start reducing massive support for the U.S. economy.

How the pandemic is accelerating trends in financial advice and changing the way Americans manage their money.

Federal Reserve officials held interest rates near zero while signaling they expect two increases by the end of 2023, pulling forward the date of liftoff and projecting a faster-than-anticipated pace of tightening as the economy recovers.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles has made it clear that banks failing to make the transition away from the benchmark rate could face supervisory consequences.

The steady pace of refinance activity has also continued, as borrowers seek to take advantage of sub-3% rates.

More than two-thirds of the economists surveyed expect the Federal Open Market Committee will give an early-warning signal of tapering this year, with the largest number — 45% — looking for a nod during the July-September quarter.

“It’s time for us to stop treating the purchase mortgage as some kind of market impediment or red flag for our forecasts,” says Chairman of JJAM Financial and former Ginnie Mae President Joseph Murin