Mr. Harry O'Rahilly:

The Senator is correct, in that there are identical maturities for bonds and loans. This induces considerable stability within the system. During stressed market times, many deposits could be withdrawn from a universal bank, which would create a liquidity problem for it. Since bonds are not callable, though, the investors cannot just take them out at will. As this provides a great deal of stability, there is reduced risk, which results in a lower cost of funding, and that lower cost can be passed on to the consumer.