MILLBURN, N.J. ( Stockpickr) -- Is there anyone out there who likes financial stocks? Sure, there are the perma-financial-bulls paid to write up research on the financial sector who love to blab about it in the media. But the numbers tell a different story.
The KBW Bank Index has declined 24% in the last year, and the
SPDR Financial Select ETF (
XLF) has declined 19%. Many financial service companies are ensconced in the wide-ranging problems plaguing the global banking and brokerage sector. These problems include:
Exposure to the sovereign and bank debt of many European nations commonly referred to as the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) Mortgages that remain delinquent and represent less than the market value of the properties Undocumented or poorly documented mortgages Capital inadequacy and unlikeliness to meet the more-stringent ratio requirements under the Basel III Accord >>5 Stocks With Relative Strength Poised to Break Out But as we saw in the 2008-2009 financial crisis, many institutions not only survived the crisis but were better prepared before, during and after the crisis. And now, some financial companies are suffering simply because of their "financial" label. Amid all the rubble, I've found several financial services companies that haven't been tainted by all that is bad about the financial sector. These stocks offer excellent opportunities in the banking and financial services sector with less risk.
Here are
six financial stocks that offer excellent value.
