Financial Roundup: Mortgage Refinancing Wave, Brits Buy RBS Stake, Fed Approves Merrill Lynch Sale

(MoneyWatch)  Home buyers chase after low rates -- Prospective home buyers and refinancers are scarfing up mortgage loans after the Federal Reserve bought a large chunk of mortgage-backed securities this Tuesday. Drops in interest rates to the mid 5 percent range have touched off a national wave of trading. [Source: The Washington Post]

U.K. buys majority in RBS -- The United Kingdom has bought a nearly 60 percent stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland Group after shareholders shunned a stock offering. RBS, which expects its first-ever loss this year, was hurt by sub prime mortgages and an expensive purchase of ABN Auto Bank just before the credit crunch. [Source: The Associated Press]

Fed backs Merrill Lynch's sale to BofA -- The Federal Reserve Board has made official Bank of America's $50 billion purchase of Merrill Lynch. The deal will make BofA the largest depository institution ever. [Source: The Wall Street Journal]

New Orleans bank gets federal money -- Whitney Holding Corp., parent of Whitney National Bank, will be getting federal bailout money. It was deemed ligible to sell aout $301 million in preferred stock and warrants for common stock to the Treasury Department. [Source: The Times-Picayune]