After reaching record low levels in early 2000, mortgage delinquency rates swung sharply higher in the second half of the year, in an uncharacteristically dramatic change in course given the generally favorable – if weakening – national economic picture. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, some 4.54 percent of all borrowers were past due at the end of 2000 – a 50 basis point deterioration in loan performance in just three months. The