The language in this is a bit silly:<p>&quot;Nowhere is that more evident than in the U.S., where lending to the government should be far safer than speculating on the direction of interest rates with Wall Street banks.&quot;<p>You aren&#x27;t &quot;speculating on the direction of interest rates with Wall Street banks&quot;, you&#x27;re buying a synthetic rates position that is centrally cleared with daily variation margin.  That&#x27;s not quite US Treasury safe, but it&#x27;s pretty damn safe.