Washington Mutual Bank launches $1 bln notes

NEW YORK,- Washington Mutual Bank, a unit of Washington Mutual Inc. (WM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), launched $1 billion of five-year floating-rate bank notes, market sources said on Monday.

The notes are expected to be priced at 0.20 percentage point more than the three-month London interbank offered rate, sources said.

The amount of the issue, which is expected to price later Monday, was increased from an originally planned $500 million.

The joint lead managers of the sale are HSBC, Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment Bank.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.