Low interest rates at year’s end kept demand for U.S. mortgages at a five-year peak. Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity was unchanged last week at 1,245.7, matching the highest level since July 2003. Lending is expected to remain slow in 2009, according to a survey of loan market makers. The number of loans made by banks fell to the lowest volume since 1994, as banks work to repair balance sheets and avoid underwriting risky loans in a poor economy.”]
Source: https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/2008-trading-year-draws-to-close-a-1141