Top banks pause, then lower prime lending rates

Major banks uncharacteristically held back for more than a day before cutting their prime rates in response to the Federal Reserve’s quarter-point interest rate cut Wednesday. The rate for Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America and Bank One is 4%, down from 4.25%. Banks typically rushed in lock step to reduce rates each of the previous 12 times the Fed cut rates.

Mortgage rates rose in the week ending Friday, with the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage edging up to 5.24% from 5.21% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac. The average rate on a 15-year mortgage rose to 4.63% from 4.62%, while the average rate on a one-year adjustable fell to a new low of 3.45% from 3.51%.