Three years ago, the Detroit Water Department had to pay Goldman and other banks penalties totaling $547 million to terminate costly interest-rate swaps.
And the company's research showed the technology was becoming less costly and interest was rising among small physician practices, according to Todd Matherly, vice president for health and wellness at Sam's Club.
And lenders are forbidden to pay kickbacks — "yield spread premiums" — to brokers who push borrowers into costly, higher-interest loans.
"If cash advances weren't costly enough with interest rates in the high teens, there's no grace period, and the interest clock starts ticking right away," McBride said.
Pension funds are not the only accounts at risk to costly conflicts of interest.
Prosecutors said their goal is to block Monte dei Paschi from losing more money to Nomura in connection with a deal called "Alexandria," a bet on Italian government bonds that were made more costly by an interest rate swap that became unfavorable when rates fell.
This means that balances held on business credit cards are vulnerable to becoming suddenly more costly because of interest rate changes.
Hijacking a vote count -- or worse, annulling an election gone awry -- is costly for dictators interested in legitimacy.
