The rates, they are a-changin’.

Pretty much nobody was surprised when the Federal Reserve raised its key short-term interest rate yesterday to a range of 0.25 to 0.5 percent. The real shock would have been if the Fed had not decided to raise rates after all.

Markets reacted positively to the news and banks wasted no time raising their prime lending rates. It took Wells Fargo just 12 minutes to raise its rate a quarter of a percentage point, making it the first bank to do so.

“It’s been a very, very long time since we last had a rising interest rate environment,” said David Smith, chief investment officer at Rockland Trust. “I think a lot of people who are employed today in financial institutions have never been in a situation where rates are rising.”

And while Smith is largely optimistic, he does have some concerns that falling bond prices could spur investors to move their money out of corporate bond funds, causing some volatility in that market.

“We’re starting to see that; some of the money that flowed into these bond mutual funds may flow out just as quickly,” he said.

Overseas markets are another area of concern, particularly Europe, China and some emerging markets, said Tony Bedikian, managing director of global markets at Citizens Bank.

“What we’re telling clients is that it’s prudent to continue to risk manage and reduce their exposures, particularly to rising rates,” he said.

Commenting on the prolonged low interest rate environment, he said, “It’s been almost 10 years since the last rate hike and when you look back at some other events or inventions in history, I think it’s kind of funny that the first iPhone came out just eight years ago – it’s been even longer since the Fed has tightened.”

While rates are likely to remain low for a long time yet to come, Belmont Savings Bank has been reaching out to borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages and home equity lines of credit, President and CEO Robert M. Mahoney said. Mahoney has some concerns that borrowers accustomed to record low rates for so long may be unprepared for even a slight increase in their monthly payments.

“The great thing about low rates is they’re low. The bad thing about low rates is that small increases are big increases on a percentage basis,” he said. “Three percent to four percent, that’s a 33 percent increase.”

Accordingly, Belmont has been encouraging some of those borrowers to think about refinancing into a fixed rate mortgage or rolling that home equity line of credit into their mortgage.

But beyond that, he said, “It’s just another day at the bank.”