banks

I’m sure it didn’t take long for someone in the tiny population living in Tightwad, Missouri to think of using the town’s name for a bank. The bank closed in 2006 after 22 years in business, but they’ve just announced that version 2.0 is on the horizon.

I guess the novelty doesn’t wear off for some. Hey, in this economic climate, tightwads SHOULD be shouting their true natures from the rooftops. Loud and proud.

Maybe BoA is trying to catch some green karma amidst all the fledgling banks. You know, they invest in cutting greenhouse gases, maybe they’ll keep the green they already have?

No. That’s stretching it. They probably just want to be able to survive in the future.

Wachovia’s shares are hurting today, after the company posted a $10 billion dollar second quarter loss, cut it’s dividend, and resigned from the wholesale mortgage business (which, of course, will kill a load of jobs). The dollar dropped after the report, and now Wachovia’s stock price is plummeting.

Everyone’s going nuts over a sudden influx of “troubled banks” lists. No one wants their money sitting in a bank that’s about to go under, but things might not be exactly what they seem.

It’s not time to put your money in a shoebox under your bed.

At least…not yet.

I don’t have to look for stocks based on my strategy of buying stocks at all-time highs, they find me. I have to say I was surprised when Bank of Hawaii (BOH) started showing up.

They must be selling drugs and porn, not loans!

Not so.

Today on Wallstrip, Julie breaks it down a little .

Maybe it’s the gains from the Visa IPO, maybe it’s that Hawaiian land and development is still robust compared to mainland America, or just maybe, the bank is underwriting loans in a diligent way. I do know that if a bank stock wanted to go down, this is the environment that it should have.

For it’s strength I say Bravo, but I am not a buyer.