Sentence:  Bankers who had been reluctant to lend without better security than the house itself got that security from the U. S. government ; householders who had been unable to pick up the burden of short-term high interest mortgages found they could borrow for twenty-five <WSD>years</WSD> at 4 per cent , under government aegis . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days