National Bank of Greece (ADR) (NBG)

Foreign money center bank. Good place to park while dollar continues its tumble

At this point I'm thinking... this is easy picking. Very good companies that people are scared to touch = very cheap quality banks.

The trend is down for banks

They'll do well.

ROE is good at 19%.

Quotes from recent financial articles on NBG below

On Wednesday, NBG reported 2006 net profit of euro990 million ($1.3 billion), up 36 percent on the year, and total revenue of euro2.8 billion ($3.7 billion. Those figures include only a partial contribution from recently acquired Turkish lender Finansbank. When fully consolidated, Finansbank's contribution to group profits will grow approximately threefold.

What do you have to pay for NBG's growth? Not a lot in P/E terms. The trailing P/E is comfortably less than 20, with 45% earnings-per-share growth expected in 2007 and a forward P/E of 13.

I bought this stock with real money which means it should go down now. Of course my outlook for the actual stock isn't over the few weeks time frame so I'm not too worried

Why isn't this trading at $10ish? Rumors and speculation can hinder the prospects of genuine and decent investments. People are affraid of financials, of foreign markets and of the stock market in general. I am convinced that many of the next great fortunes will be amassed by holders of stock in solid financial companies. Fear has been so rampant that buy points I never dreamed of before 2008 abound. When the market catches up with this, some shareholders will be well rewarded. Others will realize losses. Get to know your companies behind your stocks. This one looks like a winner for the long haul to me right now. But as with all of the areas of fear I mentioned above, I am watching.

GS

The National Bank of Greece is a "go" because not because the price of the stock has fallen recently. NBG is a go because the bank has moved outside of Greece to purchase other banks in countries that are nearby. Greece has a good location near the junction of several continents (remember the role Greece played in the early movement of Christianity?) and now NBG is getting involved in modern financial movements. As always, NBG is a dividend paying security.

High double digit mortgage and consumer credit growth in new EU members and Turkey will fuel enormous growth. Turkey is just beginning to see the mass adoption of consumer and mortgage credit. Ignore the short term political noise; economic reforms in Turkey are irreversible. The real estate booms in Bulgaria and Romania will also pour fuel on the fire. I have seen this (and invested) in the Baltic states, and the the credit fueled real estate boom will repeat in these two new EU members. That's why I bought property in Bulgaria, (and may well be a client of NBG in the future).

03/29/07 FAST MONEY PICK AS OWNER TOO.

Div & Yield: 0.76 (7.20%)

Great market share in an emerging market will drive growth for this lender.

Good growth and earnings.

strong dividend although as jbolley says, payout ratio is quite suspect. and where is the 10k? is anyone knows let me know. thanks. definetely undervalued though, at least by my standards. even without the dividend. probably worthy of a true investment.

NBG is a steal at $10.26. Growth has been outstanding, low risk high gain portfolios, this stock is a cinch to go up over $12 in the next month.Get in before it is too late!

Div & Yield: 0.76 (7.10%)

FAST MONEY PICK 03/30/07

This is a high growth bank in a hot market Eastern Europe. Should continue to outperform for the next two years or so.

Fantastic. Great buy.

This is the biggest bank in Greece, has been growing profits rapidly, but has a very low PE around 7 (with forward PE around 5).

It is well capitalized, has no exposure to American mortgage based instruments, and is not heavily dependant on credit markets as it is a more traditional bank that makes loans from customer savings. It is heavily invested in nearby rapidly growing markets like eastern europe and Turkey, where it provides basic financial services.