Bank Shares are just so darn cheap right now they could be giving them away with toasters. If you don’t want to have to figure out which bank is going under next you can just buy the (XLF -22.36) on next dip. Personally, I’ve been buying Lehman (LEH – $20.63) because I think they will not go the way of Bear Stearns and American Express (AXP – $38.13) because they are not a bank and any temporary reduction in credit card spending will be made up by the secular trend toward credit card usage and the higher service provided by American Express products.

This cartoon from the Sacramento Bee says it all:

Photo: massdistraction, Creative Commons, Flickr

Disclosure: I own Lehman, I am a former Managing Director at Lehman. I am still participating in their executive compensation plan. I own American Express. I own XLF.