I shake my head whenever I hear the latest cutesy reason to invest in bank stocks. Have you heard them too?
"They're too big to fail."
"Warren Buffett likes bank stocks."
"I'm an i-banker; buy my stock."
If you have heard such baloney and believe it, here's some real news. Morgan Stanley had a net loss of seven cents per share in Q3. Is that convincing enough? How about BofA's net loss of $7.3B in Q3? Not every bank is a disaster (yet), as Wells Fargo is chugging right along with a $0.60/share profit this quarter. Uncle Warren thinks that's just fine, but I'm not inclined to follow him over the cliff when that rumored $1T or so in off-balance sheet liabilities shows up.
If you bought bank stocks anticipating a broad economic rebound, you'll need lots of luck.
Full disclosure: No positions in BAC, MS, or WFC.
"They're too big to fail."
"Warren Buffett likes bank stocks."
"I'm an i-banker; buy my stock."
If you have heard such baloney and believe it, here's some real news. Morgan Stanley had a net loss of seven cents per share in Q3. Is that convincing enough? How about BofA's net loss of $7.3B in Q3? Not every bank is a disaster (yet), as Wells Fargo is chugging right along with a $0.60/share profit this quarter. Uncle Warren thinks that's just fine, but I'm not inclined to follow him over the cliff when that rumored $1T or so in off-balance sheet liabilities shows up.
If you bought bank stocks anticipating a broad economic rebound, you'll need lots of luck.
Full disclosure: No positions in BAC, MS, or WFC.