CREDIT MARKETS. JULIUS CAESAR, BRIBERY & INTEREST RATES ...
. Christian Meier. Caesar (London: Fontana Press, 1982)

The credit market is an incredibly complex phenomenon. All sorts of variables can influence the path of long-term interest rates. The funniest case that I have found, by far, is mentioned by German historian Christian Meier in his Julius Caesar biography. The would-be Consul had to bribe so many people to secure his position as pontifex maximus that interest rates reached 30% in Rome just before the election. Talk about an increase in the demand for credit!