If purchases had fallen through, buyers could have found themselves paying penalty interest of about 8%, as well as cancellation fees for removal firms.

He insisted that any help must be offered with a penalty interest rate, to avoid 'moral hazard'.

At that time, an additional 5 million of penalty interest payments will kick in.

Arrears and penalty interest accumulated on the unpaid principal which increased the size of the debt.

This arrangement worked only for cheques drawn on an account provided by the bank that issued the card and could result in an overdraft with penalty interest.