Five Fetching Bank Stocks

The deepening housing crisis has opened up buying opportunities among bank stocks.

An analysis by TheStreet.com Ratings shows that five bank stocks -- including giants Bank of America(BAC Quote) and Wachovia(WB Quote) -- could be worth buying, on the basis of the stocks' reasonable valuations and the companies' strong, sustainable dividend policies.

Bank stocks can still be risky short-term plays, since we probably haven't seen the worst of the housing crisis. Some tempting buys are out there, however, among stocks that are trading well off their highs and paying out alluring dividends.

To find the real gems within the longer list of cheap, high-dividend-yield bank stocks, we filtered the list to highlight value. ...