Mortgage Refis Tumble To Lowest Since The Financial Crisis, Leaving Banks Scrambling

At the end of March, we penned that the " Bank Sector Is In Peril As Refi Activity Crashes Amid Rising Rates" and since then it has only gotten worse. According to the latest Mortgage Banker Association data, mortgage demand continued to slide and last week mortgage application volumes slumped another 1.

9% W/W (and -5.5% Y/Y), despite a modest dip in rates. And while initial purchase applications dropped 2.0%, it was the -1.7% drop in refis (which followed a 4.9% drop the previous week) that was once again the biggest concern, as it plumbed levels not seen since the fall of Lehman, nearly a decade ago.