What is a Payment Cap designed to safeguard against?

A Payment Cap is a feature found in some adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) designed specifically to protect borrowers from significant increases in their monthly payments as interest rates fluctuate. When interest rates rise, typically, the monthly payments on an ARM can increase, sometimes dramatically. A Payment Cap limits how much the monthly payment can increase during each adjustment period or over the life of the loan, offering borrowers a certain level of predictability and stability in their budgeting.

This protection is particularly crucial for borrowers who may have tight financial margins, as it prevents their payments from rising to an unmanageable amount. By imposing this cap, lenders allow borrowers to have a safeguard against the potentially severe impact that spikes in interest rates could have on their monthly payment obligations. Thus, the reason C is the correct answer is because the Payment Cap directly addresses the issue of large fluctuations in monthly payments associated with adjustable-rate mortgages, ensuring that borrowers are not faced with unexpectedly high payments.