US banks to make home loans easier

The largest US banks are starting to offer fixed home loans below 5 percent after the government began buying mortgage securities to bolster the housing market.

JPMorgan Chase & Co is advertising 30-year mortgages as low as 4.75 percent on its Web site, Wells Fargo & Co has an offer for 4.875 percent and Bank of America Corp has rates at 5 percent. The offers are for borrowers with excellent credit who put 20 percent down.

The Federal Reserve earlier this week began purchasing $500 billion of mortgage securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae to help lower mortgage costs. While the lower rates may lead more borrowers to refinance, it may not spur home buying in the second year of the recession after more than two million jobs were lost in 2008.