$Bank of America(BAC)$ First of all, anyone who sells derivatives to hedge against interest rate rises gets a premium for it, just like a homeowner insurance policy requires a premium paid to the insurance company, regardless if any claims are ever made. So the profitability of an insurance company depends on whether they correctly priced the cost of that insurance to those who purchased it. So any losses are at least partially offset by the amount charged for the insurance. Even if BAC has 30% of the interest rate derivatives market, doesn't necessarily mean that they have a big exposure to rate hikes, unless you think they were swimming naked on those derivatives.