Rates for 30-year mortgages hover at 4.8 percent, which is almost bizarrely low, historically speaking. The time would appear to be ripe for a bank's best customers to think about re-financing their primary residence, but there has been no real groundswell. About 60 percent of homeowners with mortgages have rates that exceed 4.8 percent.

According to the New York Times, only half as many refinancing applications were submitted last week than were reported at the beginning of January, the peak level for the year. It appears that in the name of credit soundness, banks' have made it harder to qualify. True, home values have declined and banks are under pressure to keep loan quality high, but this represents a lot of fee income to banks. One would think they would step up for their best customers and make this worthwhile. Perhaps the President will take up these sorts of issues when he meets with the leaders of top banks. 

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