| KeyCorp's Commitment to Cleveland Neighborhoods Increases to More Than ...
(CSRwire) KeyCorp announced today that its Retail Banking subsidiary, KeyBank National Association, has signed a third consecutive four-year agreement with the City of Cleveland for local community reinvestment. The latest $400 million commitment increases Key's funding for community reinvestment in Cleveland to more than $1 billion. In Key's previous agreements, it committed more than $580 million between 1992 and 1999. Its actual investment exceeded those commitments by $34 million. The agreement focuses on six major lending areas: home purchase and home improvement loans; consumer lending; small business loans; community development lending; and equity and philanthropic contributions. In many cases, the financial terms will be more favorable than would be possible without the agreement, such as loans for small businesses tied to the prime rate, and a home loan of up to 97 percent of value, plus closing costs.
Banks See Spike In Refinancing Applications
MADISON, Wis. -- Refinancing applications have surged 17 percent after interest rates dropped three-quarters of a point in the past week -- and they could go lower. VIDEO: Watch The Report But financial experts said it is important to know when it's best to refinance and if the type of loan a consumer has is even affected by this week's federal rate cut. Don Bertucci, AnchorBank's senior vice president of residential lending, said the last few days have been hectic. He said the phones have been ringing and the online applications have been coming in, all in response to this week's rate cut by the federal reserve. So, what does the 0.75 percent rate cut mean for residents? "It would affect mostly second mortgages or home equity lines of credit, where the rate is adjustable," Bertucci said.
Home equity loan avoids fees of refinancing mortgage
Q. I would like to refinance my adjustable-rate mortgage to lock in one of today's low rates. But I don't want to pay a lot of fees for a new mortgage that would actually make my monthly payments bigger over the next year. Refinancing would cost thousands, which seems like an awful lot for a loan of only about $80,000. What should I do? A. You might consider a home equity loan instead of an ordinary mortgage. Many home equity loans are unusually attractive now. Yours is a dilemma that confronts many homeowners with adjustable mortgages, or ARMs: They may be happy with the low interest rates they're paying today - in many cases only 4 percent or so - but they worry their rates will rise in the future. It would be nice to lock into a low fixed rate, but refinancing fees can total thousands.
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