The Song Remains the Same

Here we are again: Let's sell all of the banks because, wonder of wonders, Capital One (COF - commentary - Cramer's Take) says things are tough. How many times can we play this game?

I read endlessly about the banks and we write endlessly about the banks and it is always the same: JPMorgan Chase (JPM - commentary - Cramer's Take) is good; Citigroup (C - commentary - Cramer's Take) is bad; Bank of America (BAC - commentary - Cramer's Take) is feckless; Wells Fargo (WFC - commentary - Cramer's Take) is scary; Goldman Sachs (GS - commentary - Cramer's Take) is great; Capital One is dangerous.

There.

OK?

I like to look at Capital One, BofA and JPMorgan as call and put options. You think unemployment's going to 10 to 12%? Buy puts on Capital One. You think housing's bottoming in June? Buy BofA. You think we muddle through and some banks get seized and given to strong banks? Buy JPMorgan.

There's really not much more to it even as it seems to be much more exciting. Sometimes you get variations on a theme: Northern Trust (NTRS - commentary - Cramer's Take) was bad and Bank of New York (BK - commentary - Cramer's Take) was not so hot vs. State Street (STT - commentary - Cramer's Take) being good!

But for the most part the script has been the same ever since Lehman Brothers. On RealMoney, everybody who hated 'em hates 'em still, and everyone who liked 'em likes 'em still -- with the exception of Doug Kass when he called the bottom. Not even the stress test will change anyone's direction.

That's why I urge people not to be shaken out by Capital One if they like the group, especially because JPMorgan told you last week what to expect with cards -- pain.

Random musings: Nothing special about Yahoo!'s (YHOO - commentary - Cramer's Take) quarter, but it does seem that management has a better handle on things....

At the time of publication, Cramer was long Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, State Street, and JPMorgan.

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