With the FED tightening and raising rates, member banks are feeling the pinch and are being forced to adjust their lending practices. The COVID panic of 2020 and 2021 pushed mortgage rates to record lows below 3%. But with the FED’s money pumping during the same period, inflation soared to over 8%. Initially, the FED felt the inflation surge was “transitory” and was the result of supply shortages due to limited production during the pandemic. So, they refused to change their easy money stance. However, as inflation continued to surge, the FED eventually decided that it had to act.
So the FED began tightening (i.e., reducing FED assets), and raising FED funds rates. As we can see in the chart below, the FED funds rate was virtually zero at the beginning of 2022, and by October, it had shot up to 3.08%.