Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Wednesday, July 10, 1996

The average 30-year mortgage rate was 7.63 percent a year ago, according to Bloomberg Business News.

The average adjustable mortgage rate rose to 6.01 percent from 5.94 percent a week earlier. Fifteen-year mortgage rates averaged 7.93 percent, up from 7.67 percent.

Ronald Hirano, executive director of the state's Aloha Tower Development Corp., said the money was paid yesterday. The state had tried to collect the money from the marketplace developer, Aloha Tower Associates, but the partnership did not meet a May 31 deadline.

Mitsui, which lent the money for the development, has filed a foreclosure action against Aloha Tower Associates, saying it did so to protect its mortgage on the marketplace. Aloha Tower Associates earlier sued Mitsui, claiming that the Japanese bank had promised to lend $710 million for a wide range of development activities along the waterfront but came up with only the $60 million to build the marketplace.

The administration yesterday said it hopes the new law will give consumers a greater choice of products at lower prices. None of Hawaii's five state-chartered banks has yet applied to the state to set up an insurance or securities unit. But bank officials say they are working on it.

The new law gives the state-chartered banks the same right as federally chartered banks to sell insurance from towns with populations of 5,000 or less, said Gil Tam, senior vice president of government affairs at Bank of Hawaii. The new law also allows banks to sell annuities, securities and underwrite life, health and property-casualty insurance, which the federally chartered banks are not allowed to do, Tam said.