One nurse consultant I spoke to told me that being asked to vote on whether or not to accept the deal felt a bit like trying to decide whether or not to take out a bank loan without knowing the interest rate.

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"The borrower gets a low interest rate, commensurate with the interest of a conforming loan, and the bank mitigates its risk to some degree, " said Laurie Stewart, the bank's president and CEO.

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The bank's net interest margin--the difference between its cost of capital and average loan rate--has fallen for five consecutive quarters, to 0.9%.

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Risk aversion also adds to interest rate costs on short term bank loans, and with Russia considered a risk investment, loan costs inevitably rise.

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The interest rate on the loan was less then what the grandchild would have paid at a bank, and the loan came with an "unwritten" understanding that the repayment term could be extended if needed.

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