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Showing posts with label US banks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US banks. Show all posts

Friday, June 22, 2012

Investor's Checklist: Banks

The business model of banks can be summed up as the management of three types of risk:  credit, liquidity, and interest rate.

Investors should focus on conservatively run institutions.  They should seek out firms that hold large equity bases relative to competitors and provision conservatively for future loan losses

Different components of banks' income statements can show volatile swings depending on a number of factors such as the interest rate and credit environment.  However, well-run banks should generally show steady net income growth through varying environments.  Investors are well served to seek out firms with a good track record.

Well-run banks focus heavily on matching the duration of assets with the duration of liabilities.  For instance, banks should fund long-term loans with liabilities such as long-term debt or deposits, not short-term funding. Avoid lenders that don't.

Banks have numerous competitive advantages.  They can borrow money at rates lower than even the federal government.  There are large economies of scale in this business derived from having an established distribution network.  the capital-intensive nature of banking deters new competitors.  Customer-switching costs are high, and there are limited barriers to exit money-losing endeavors.

Investors should seek out banks with a strong equity base, consistently solid ROEs and ROAs, and an ability to grow revenues at a steady pace.


Comparing similar banks on a price-to-book measure can be a good way to make sure you're not overpaying for a bank stock.


Ref:  The Five Rules to Successful Stock Investing by Pat Dorsey


Read also:
Investor's Checklist: A Guided Tour of the Market...


Saturday, May 5, 2012

Buffett Says U.S. Banks a Class Apart From Europeans


Bloomberg News

By Noah Buhayar, Andrew Frye and Hugh Son on May 05, 2012
 
Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) (A) has more than $19 billion invested in U.S. banks, said the lenders have ample liquidity and are a class apart from European rivals.
“I would put European banks and American banks in two very different categories,” Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman and chief executive officer, said today at the firm’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. “The American banking system is in fine shape. The European system was gasping for air a few months back” before getting assistance from the European Central Bank.
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) (WFC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. posted record profits last year and their CEOs are contesting efforts by U.S. policy makers to strengthen banking regulations. European banks have struggled amid the continent’s sovereign debt crisis and turned to the ECB, starting in December, for extraordinary three-year loans at interest rates of 1 percent.
“I’d like to have a lot of money for three years at 1 percent, but I’m not in trouble,” said Buffett, 81. U.S. banks have “liquidity coming out their ears.”
Berkshire, which Buffett has led for 42 years, is the biggest shareholder of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, with a more than $12 billion stake. Buffett injected $5 billion into Bank of America Corp. (BAC) (BAC) last year in exchange for preferred stock and warrants. Berkshire’s shareholding of U.S. Bancorp (USB) (USB) was valued at $2.2 billion as of yesterday.
 

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