Today’s Wall Street Journal had a good article about how enforced low interest rates are an underhanded way of helping banks by helping their spreads–the difference between their cost of funds and their lending rates. It has added directly to their profits of late, and it does so by taking it out of the hide of the few remaining Americans who actually save up for purchases, retirement, etc.
This is why one might consider (not for the money needed next year, but for long-term investment) starting to nibble at select bank stocks.
I fully expect one or two more panic sell-off periods for financials, where someone with cajones will make a ton of money. Eventually, borrowing money at 2% and lending at 6-8% has to reach the bottom line. That is if they can survive losses on RE loans.
