But it incurred a $190 million added charge against income because of the prepayment penalty.

On a $250,000 loan with a current interest rate of around 8 percent, a prepayment penalty would be $10,000.

With an annual saving of $260,000, the prepayment penalty would be covered in less than five years.

Although some prepayment penalties still had to be paid, he said they were significantly lower than anticipated.

Subprime loans often have a prepayment penalty included in the terms.

If you want to pay off a loan ahead of schedule, though, there are no prepayment penalties.

"As a general principle, prepayment penalties ought to be allowed."

If the difference in interest rates is big enough, a refinancing may make sense even with the prepayment penalty.

There was no way he was going to face prepayment penalties alone.

Watch out for bigger prepayment penalties and down payments as well.