Cramer: I Wish I Bought Bank of America

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Debra Borchardt: Bank of America (BAC) said that they had now settled on their mortgage problem. Jim, when we look at Bank of America and we talked about this bank last week, you liked some of the regional names better.

Jim Cramer: Yes, I do.

Debra Borchardt: You felt like the stock has already run. Are you worried though that people are going to get sucked into this that when they do deliver this quarter that addresses this settlement, it's going to be a terrible quarter and they'll get beaten back down.

Jim Cramer: Well, I'm beginning to think that there's going to be revenue growth of the banks. Everyone's focused on net interest margin. But if you begin to get more lending and Brian Moynihan said this. ..

Debra Borchardt: He said that last week.

Jim Cramer: Then what you're going to find is, is that we're going to be able to value these things in ways that are kind of like other stocks. I remember we don't trust the book value. Remember, Bank of America was at $18 when a lot of the banks were much lower. Then it dropped to $12 because of lawsuits, then it ultimately went to $5, $6 because of liability. I think as important as the Fannie Mae (FNMA)problem was, let's say they wipe out of that worry and that they are selling these difficult service mortgages to NorthStar Mortgage (NSM). That's also a positive. Bank of America is putting the Countrywide problems behind it. Countrywide almost destroyed the company. If you can make the focus Merrill Lynch and make the focus retail banking, then Bank of America can go much higher. I don't think the stock's expensive at all.

Debra Borchardt: Let's bring in also that there is whispering that perhaps the Fed is going to cut short its bond buying program. If that happens, interest rates are going to go up. That also benefits the banks that have rates up.

Jim Cramer: Yes. The net interest margin has been just a horrendous thing for all banks, particularly for Wells Fargo (WFC) by the way. I think Wells Fargo, which is an Action Alerts Plus name. Bank of America - people think it's up 100 percent, Jim, it can't go any higher. It maybe should never have been at five, six. The lawsuit risk, the franchise risk was so great at five, six before Buffett got involved that you could understand.

Systemic risk is different from earnings risk. Bank of America is going to begin to be valued as a growth stock and being able to say we are now lending again. If you get a little net interest margin pop then you see the stock at $18. We have been buying Key (KEY)over and over and over again. I think Key is a really undervalued story. I think Key could go to 12 from eight, nine and not be overvalued. That's an Action Alerts Plus name. Bank of America, candidly, I wish we had bought it. We didn't. We're focused on Key. We made some money in JP Morgan (JPM). But I think that this is an investment, not a trade. I think that people should understand Bank of America putting the past behind it is just usually positive. Eighteen dollars.

Debra Borchardt: All right. You could buy and hold Bank of America.

Jim Cramer: Eighteen dollars.

--Written by Debra Borchardt in New York.



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