Banco Santander Central Hispano SA (ADR) (NYSE:STD)

The top bank in Spain and rated among the top 10 SAFEST banks in the world. When the world finally crawls out of this recession this bank will be on top. All we need is Obama and Geithner to reinstate the uptick rule that had only been in place since the Great Depression to prevent shorts from driving banks to insolvency. Also wave the rules for a year on valuing the risky mortgages until the housing market lifts. The good banks are way undervalued, and this is definitely one of them!

Gotta go thumbs down on std's =)

Long term always a winner.

Fundementals good but in the outgoing tide

Good solid bank, that manages it's risk very well. They have huge latin american presence that will help during the time of slowdown in Europe and US

This is bank is very strong. For me the main risk is the spanish mortgage market, but they have been very conservative when lending and spanish unemployement benefits should cover them in a recession (people fired receives 80% of its salary).

It has great growth potential form its recent acquisitions in Brazil, UK and USA, nice dividend and what it's most important, top management (just look at their ROE compared to other banks).

This is a tentative pick for me. The Spanish economy where they do a significant portion of their business is getting hit hard by its own property bubbles burst and will see lowered growth as it loses many of the EU subsidies it has received over the past decade to the new Eastern EU states. Spain has however better positioned itself to recover from the economic crisis with economic reforms.

However all that aside I cannot turn down the 6.66 P/E and 5.8% dividend, coupled with the fact that I'm eager to see if they make any purchases of distressed banks.

These are the guys, who benefit from the the mistakes of other banks, big.

Spanish bank that did not partake in the toxic assets business. Now they're in a strong position and they're out shopping.

Graham formula gives a 50% discount on fair value, and they pay out a very nice 6.7% dividend.

While drunk on Sabre Tooth urine, Grog pick up STD from cavewoman... Now Grog always has burning sensation.

Well managed bank that has avoided the junk mortgage assets, and is expanding into Latin America. Low PE and debt equity ratios. Good dividend. At year low.

Dark horse from Spain. Good recovery form credit risks, expanding and grabbing assets. Will soon be at a scale to see genuine efficiencies and be a major global bank. $24

Cheep

This is one of the soundest financial plays available now. The bank has access both to the EU market and the emerging markets in Latin America, and has had the good judgment to stay away from substantial exposure to CDOs.

Very solid earnings history when compared with P/E.

Come on, you didn't think a Finance Professor wouldn't pick an International Finance play did ya? This is one of my faves as an ex-banker. Not involved in anything other than basic banking and taking itself from Spain to South America. Do not say adios to this one!

Bullish on Brazil. The run is not over. Warren Buffet is buying the 'real'.

The biggest problem with Banco Santander is the word "Banco" in their name. This stock has PE and yield that suggest that it is going out of business. With a market cap of 133B, I doubt it. There are some things of course that are difficult about this high yielding stock. The ROA is terrible, and the amount of debt is quite large. This is clearly a yield play for me.

Foreign Banks to consider investments in the US - Dollar exchange and mortgae crisis