... 10,452 commercial banksused off-balance-sheet derivative contracts based on interest rates.128 Federal Reserve Bulletin February 1996 An Analysis of Commercial Bank Exposure to Interest Rate Risk David ... characteristics.SOURCES OF INTEREST RATE RISK Interest rate risk is, in general, the potential forchanges in rates to reduce a bank s earnings or value.As financial intermediaries, banks encounter interest rate risk ... and are an important part of the management of interest rate risk at certain banks.The notional amount of interest rate contracts—suchas interest rate options, swaps, futures, and forwardrate...