Loans provided by BNDES are based in the so called TJLP long-term interest rate, which currently stands at 5%, while traditional loans carry a premium over benchmark Selic rate, currently at 12.25%.

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While DKS was early to pull the promotional trigger on cold weather product as sales most likely were not coming in at the expected rate, we believe much of the discounting was either vendor funded or on carry over product from last year.

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Since this would have amounted to direct losses to the banks that lent the money, the difference was smoothed over by "securitizing" the new loans against US Treasury bonds, which carry a zero interest rate and are totally safe.

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While most HECM reverse-mortgage options carry adjustable rates and offer a line of credit or annuity-like payouts over time, the sole fixed-rate HECM choice is available only with a lump-sum payout.

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