AFAIK it's actually the other way around. Banks, hedge funds and other institutions regularly trade "swaps" - instruments that swap variable interest rate for some fixed interest rate - the variable rate is usually "FED rate" or some well-known benchmark, whereas the fixed rate is set to be such that the net present value is zero - so that you can establish such contract without any immediate exchange of money.

If anything, it's a huge anomaly that this facility isn't routinely available to retail customers, and an indication of lack of competition within the banking sector in many countries.