Hot Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014

The close of trading last week left Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC  ) stock in a spectacular position, not far from its 52-week high of $13.55 as it ended Friday with a price of $13.43.

In fact, the entire banking sector was in the green, and in a big way. The KBW Bank Index (DJINDICES: ^BKX  ) ended up with a remarkable 4.4% gain from its open on Monday, as did B of A with a 3.4% rise. The other big banks did swimmingly, as well: Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) rose 4.6% during the week, Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) floated upward by 5.7%, and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) saw an increase of 6.6% -- especially startling considering the hot water that CEO Jamie Dimon has found himself in lately.

Oodles of good news for the nation's biggest banks
What sent financial stocks soaring? Much good news found its way into the media toward the end of the week, giving the whole sector a much-needed lift, and every joyful report featured Bank of America.

Hot Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: New York Community Bancorp Inc (NYCB.N)

New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and a producer of multi-family mortgage loans in New York City, with an emphasis on apartment buildings that feature below-market rents. It has two bank subsidiaries: New York Community Bank (the Community Bank),New York Commercial Bank (the Commercial Bank. The Community Bank has 241 branches and operates through seven divisional banks. The Commercial Bank has 34 branches in Manhattan and operates 17 of its branches under the divisional name Atlantic Bank.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, all of the one-to-four family loans the Company originated was sold to government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). In New York, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through Roslyn Savings Bank, with 55 branches on Long Island; Queens County Savings Bank, with 34 branches in the New York City borough of Queens; Richmond County Savings Bank, with 22 branches in the borough of Staten Island, and Roose velt Savings Bank, with eight branches in the borough of Brooklyn. As of December 31, 2011, in the Bronx and neighboring Westchester County, the Company had four branches that operated directly under the name New York Community Bank.

In New Jersey, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 51 branches that operate under the name Garden State Community Bank. In Florida and Arizona, where it has 25 and 14 branches, respectively, the Company serves its customers through the AmTrust Bank (AmTrust) division of the Community Bank. In Ohio, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 28 branches of Ohio Savings Bank. Customers of the Community Bank and the Commercial Bank have access to their accounts through 261 of its 285 automatic teller machines (ATMs) locations in five states. The Company also serves its customers through three Websites, which include www.myNYCB.com, www.NewYorkCommercialBank.com and www.NYCBfamily.com.

Lendi ng Activities

The Company�� principal asset i! s loans. Its loan portfolio consists of three components: covered loans, non-covered loans held for sale and non-covered loans held for investment. As of December 31, 2011, the balance of covered loans was $3.8 billion, of which $3.4 billion were one-to-four family loans. Non-covered loans held for sale consists of the one-to-four family loans that are originated for sale, primarily to GSEs. At December 31, 2011, the held-for-sale loan portfolio totaled $1.0 billion

As of December 31, 2011, loans held for investment consisted of loans that it originates for its own portfolio, and totaled $ 25.5 billion.

In addition to multi-family loans, loans held for investment include commercial real estate loans (CRE); acquisition, development and construction (ADC) loans; commercial and industrial loans (C&I), and one-to-four family loans. As of December 31, 2011, its multi-family loans represented $17.4 billion, or 68.3%, of total loans held for investment, and repr esented $5.8 billion, or 64.1%, of the total loans that it originated for investment. The multi-family loans it originates are typically secured by non-luxury apartment buildings in New York City. It also makes multi-family loans to property owners who are seeking to expand their real estate holdings by purchasing additional properties.

As of December 31, 2011, CRE loans represented $6.9 billion, or 26.9%, of total held for investment; ADC loans represented $445.7 million, or 1.7%, of total loans held for investment. Its ADC loan portfolio consists of loans that were originated for land acquisition, development, and construction of multi-family and residential tract projects in New York City and Long Island.

C&I loans represented $600.0 million, or 2.4%, of total held for investment. It also offers a range of loans to small and mid-size businesses for working capital (including in! ventory a! nd receivables), business expansion, and the purchase of equipment a nd machinery. Non-covered one-to-four family loans totaled $! 127.4 mil! lion at December 31, 2011.

Investment Activities

The Company�� securities portfolio primarily consists of mortgage-related securities, and debt and equity (other) securities. Its investments include GSE certificates, GSE collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and GSE debentures. The Community Bank and the Commercial Bank are members of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLB-NY), one of 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs) consisting of the FHLB system. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� securities represented $4.5 billion, or 10.8%, of total assets. As of December 31, 2011, 93.7% of its securities portfolio consisted of GSE obligations; held-to-maturity securities represented $3.8 billion, or 84.0%, of total securities, and its investment in bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) was $769.0 million.

Source of Funds

The Company has four primary funding sources. These include the deposits that it added thr ough its acquisitions or gathered through its branch network, and brokered deposits; wholesale borrowings, primarily in the form of FHLB advances and repurchase agreements with the FHLB and various brokerage firms; cash flows produced by the repayment and sale of loans, and cash flows produced by securities repayments and sales. As of December 31, 2011, deposits totaled $ 22.3 billion, which included certificates of deposit (CDs) of $7.4 billion; negotiable order withdrawal (NOW) and money market accounts of $8.8 billion; savings accounts of $ 4.0 billion, and non-interest-bearing accounts of $2.2 billion. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� borrowed funds totaled $14.0 billion, loan repayments and sales generated cash flows of $15.0 billion, and securities sales and repayments generated cash flows of $4.2 billion.

Subsidiary Activities

As of December 31, 2011, C! ommunity ! Bank had 34 subsidiary corporations. Of these, 22 are direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank and 12 are subsidiaries of Community B! ank-owned! entities. The 22 direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank include DHB Real Estate, LLC, Mt. Sinai Ventures, LLC, NYCB Community Development Corp., NYCB Mortgage Company, LLC, Eagle Rock Investment Corp., Pacific Urban Renewal, Inc., Somerset Manor Holding Corp., Synergy Capital Investments, Inc., 1400 Corp., BSR 1400 Corp., Bellingham Corp., Blizzard Realty Corp., CFS Investments, Inc., Main Omni Realty Corp., NYB Realty Holding Company, LLC, O.B. Ventures, LLC, RCBK Mortgage Corp., RCSB Corporation, RSB Agency, Inc., Richmond Enterprises, Inc. and Roslyn National Mortgage Corporation.

The 12 subsidiaries of Community Bank-owned entities include Bronx Realty Funding Company, LLC, Columbia Preferred Capital Corporation, Ferry Development Holding Company, Peter B. Cannell & Co., Inc., Roslyn Real Estate Asset Corp., Walnut Realty Funding Company, LLC, Woodhaven Investments Inc, Your New REO, LLC, Ironbound Investment Company, Inc.,The Hamlet at Olde Oyster Bay, LLC, The Hamlet at Willow Creek, LLC and Richmond County Capital Corporation.

The two direct subsidiaries of the Commercial Bank include Beta Investments, Inc., and Gramercy Leasing Services, Inc. The two subsidiaries of Commercial Bank-owned entities include Omega Commercial Mortgage Corp. and Long Island Commercial Capital Corp.

Hot Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: Bank of America Corporation(BAC)

Bank of America Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and nonbanking financial services and products to individuals, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, and governments in the United States and internationally. The company?s Deposits segment generates savings accounts, money market savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and checking accounts; and Global Card Services segment provides the U.S. consumer and business card, consumer lending, international card and debit card services. Its Home Loans & Insurance segment offers consumer real estate products and services, including mortgage loans, reverse mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and home equity loans. It also provides property, disability, and credit insurance. The company?s Global Commercial Banking segment offers lending products, including commercial loans and commitment facilities, real estate lending, leasing, trade finance, short-term credit, asset-based lending, and indirect consumer loans; and capital management and treasury solutions, such as treasury management, foreign exchange, and short-term investing options. Its Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial products, advisory services, settlement, and custody services; debt and equity underwriting and distribution, merger-related advisory services, and risk management products; and integrated working capital management and treasury solutions. The company?s Global Wealth & Investment Management segment offers investment and brokerage services, estate management, financial planning services, fiduciary management, credit and banking expertise, and asset management products. Bank of America Corporation serves customers through a network of approximately 5,900 banking centers and 18,000 automated teller machines. It was formerly known as NationsBank Corporation and changed its name on October 1, 1998. Bank of America Corporation was founded in 1874 and is based in Charlott e, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Today is the longest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere -- and it's looking like it will be a long day for Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) on the trading floor.�The bank lost 4% just as the second hour of trading was getting under way, but it has since recovered slightly and sits at a loss of 1.39% as of 2:45 p.m. EDT.�Some new allegations involving mortgages may be just the newest hurdle the bank and its investors are facing.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Many considered Bank of America (BAC) and AIG (AIG) doomed by the near collapse of the U.S. financial system in 2008. Bruce Berkowitz merely saw opportunity. The prominent investor and founder of the Fairholme Fund planted billions into the two companies, causing a stir in the investing community. He explains why in two case studies published on his web site.

• [By John Grgurich]

  2. Great 2012 share-price performance
  We all know that investor darling Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) returned better than 100% for investors in 2012, but less well-known is the fact that shares in U.S. Bancorp gained a big 15.81% in the same time period.

Top Casino Stocks To Buy For 2014: Royal Bank Of Canada(RY)

Royal Bank of Canada provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking, and transaction processing services under the RBC name worldwide. Its Canadian Banking segment offers personal financial services, business financial services, and cards and payment solutions. The company?s Wealth Management segment provides wealth and asset management, and estate and trust services to affluent and high net worth clients through distributors, as well as directly to institutional and individual clients in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Its Insurance segment provides various life and health insurance, including universal life, accidental death and critical illness protection, disability, long-term care insurance, and group benefits; and property and casualty insurance comprising home, auto, and travel insurance, as well as wealth accumulation solutions; and reinsurance products through retail ins urance branches, call centers, independent insurance advisors and travel agencies, financial institutions, and career sales force. The company?s International Banking segment offers various financial products and services to individuals, business clients, and public institutions in the U.S. and Caribbean. This segment also provides global custody, fund and pension administration, securities lending, shareholder services, analytics, and other related services to institutional investors. Royal Bank of Canada?s Capital Markets segment engages in the trading and distribution of fixed income, foreign exchange, equities, commodities, and derivative products for institutional, public sector, and corporate clients; and involves in investment banking, debt and equity origination, advisory services, corporate lending, private equity, and client securitization businesses. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Amanda Alix]

  The housing sector's slow recovery appears to be gaining ground, and homebuilders like PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM  ) Ryland Group (NYSE: RY  ) recently reported gains�in first-quarter revenues and substantial increases in sales prices due to rising demand. The U.S. Census Bureau�reported that housing starts for March were well over one million, nearly 47% over that for the same time last year.

Hot Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: State Street Corporation(STT)

State Street Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The company?s Investment Servicing business line provides products and services, including custody, product- and participant-level accounting; daily pricing and administration; master trust and master custody; record-keeping; foreign exchange, brokerage, and other trading services; securities finance; deposit and short-term investment facilities; loan and lease financing; investment manager and alternative investment manager operations outsourcing; and performance, risk, and compliance analytics. This segment also offers shareholder services, which comprise mutual fund and collective investment fund shareholder accounting. Its Investment Management business line provides a range of investment management, investment research, and other related services, such as securities finance; and strategies for managing passive and active financ ial assets, such as enhanced indexing and hedge fund strategies for U.S. and global equities and fixed-income securities. The company serves mutual funds, collective investment funds and other investment pools, corporate and public retirement plans, insurance companies, foundations, endowments, and investment managers. State Street Corporation was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The ratings on Bank of American Corporation (BAC), Citigroup, Inc. (C), State Street Corporation (STT) and Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) were left unchanged.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Similarly, investment management and services company State Street (NYSE: STT  ) added 4.1% in spite of a lack of news. The move does, however, come just a few days after TheStreet.com reiterated its buy recommendation on the stock. It's also worth noting that State Street Chairman and CEO Joseph Hooley will be presenting at the Morgan Stanley�Financials Conference in two weeks. Usually conferences like these allow investment firms like State Street to instill confidence in analysts, and it's not uncommon to see upgrades (and downgrades) follow these meetings.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Two additional banks with ratings previously placed on review for a credit rating downgrade also were�included in the review: Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) and State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT).

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Chen today has buy recommendations on IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) and asset manager State Street Corp. (STT)

  The top analyst of large-cap banks in the Greenwich Associates/Bloomberg Markets ranking is Betsy Graseck of Morgan Stanley. In one of her best calls, she saw bad news for JPMorgan as good news for investors.

Hot Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: Morgan Stanley(MS)

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals worldwide. It operates in three segments: Institutional Securities, Global Wealth Management Group, and Asset Management. The Institutional Securities segment offers financial advisory services on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, corporate restructurings, recapitalizations, spin-offs, exchange offers, and leveraged buyouts and takeover defenses, as well as shareholder relations, capital raising, corporate lending, and investments. This segment also engages in sales, trading, financing, and market-making activities, including equity trading, commodities, and interest rates, credit, and currencies, as well as financing services, such as prime brokerage, consolidated clearance, settlement, custody, financing, and portfolio reporting services. The Global Wealth Management Group segment provide s brokerage and investment advisory services covering various investment alternatives comprising equities, options, futures, foreign currencies, precious metals, fixed income securities, mutual funds, structured products, alternative investments, unit investment trusts, managed futures, separately managed accounts, and mutual fund asset allocation programs; education savings programs, financial and wealth planning services, and annuity and insurance products; credit and other lending products; cash management services; retirement services; and trust and fiduciary services. The Asset Management segment offers products and services in equity, fixed income, and alternative investments, such as hedge funds, fund of funds, real estate, private equity, and infrastructure to institutional and retail clients through proprietary and third party distribution channels. This segment also involves in investment and merchant banking activities. The company was founded in 1935 and is headq uartered in New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  In what may be a delayed reaction to the release of the final draft of the new Volcker rules yesterday, shares of Goldman Sachs (GS) have dropped today, joining Morgan Stanley (MS) JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) in the red.

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Financial services powerhouse Morgan Stanley (MS) is showing us the exact same setup right now, a fact that's not really that surprising considering the fact that the investment bank's big equity exposure basically makes it a leveraged bet on stocks.

  But with markets in bull mode, that's a good thing!

  Like SPY, Morgan Stanley is bouncing within a well-defined price channel right now. Price channels are valuable because they provide high probability ranges for a stock's price action. In other words, MS's price is unlikely to trade outside of those two bands on the chart above -- and that's exactly what makes this stock tradable right now. The best time to be a buyer comes on a bounce off of support, a level we're not far from.

  Buying off a support bounce makes sense for two big reasons: it's the spot where shares have the furthest to move up before they hit resistance, and it's the spot where the risk is the least (because shares have the least room to move lower before you know you're wrong). Remember, all trend lines do eventually break, but by actually waiting for the bounce to happen first, you're ensuring the MS can actually still catch a bid along that line.

  A stellar relative strength uptrend in MS adds some extra evidence that its rally has staying power.
   

• [By Sital S. Patel]

  Morgan Stanley (MS) �slipped nearly 0.1%, bouncing back from earlier lows. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) �rose more than 0.2% in early trading. Citigroup Inc. was up more than 0.8%.

Hot Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A., incorporated on September 9, 1943, is a bank in Brazil. The Company has four operational segments: Commercial Banking, Itau BBA, Consumer Credit and Corporate and Treasury. Commercial banking, including insurance, pension plan and capitalization products, credit cards, asset management and a variety of credit products and services for individuals, small and middle-market companies). Itau BBA includes corporate and investment banking. Consumer credit includes financial products and services to its non-accountholders. Corporate and treasury includes the results related to the trading activities in its portfolio, trading related to managing currency, interest rate and other market risk factors, gap management and arbitrage opportunities in domestic and foreign markets. It also includes the results associated with financial income from the investment of its excess capital.

On October 24, 2010, Itau Unibanco completed the integration of customer service locations throughout Brazil. In total, 998 branches and 245 customer site branches (CSB) of Unibanco were redesigned and integrated as Itau Unibanco customer service locations, thus creating a network of approximately 4,700 units in the country under the Itau brand. The Company is a financial holding company controlled by Itau Unibanco Participacoes S.A. (IUPAR). As of December 31, 2010, it had a network of 3,747 service branches throughout Brazil. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 913 CSBs throughout Brazil. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 28,844 automated teller machines (ATMs) throughout Brazil.

Commercial banking

The commercial banking segment offers a range of banking services to a diversified base of individuals and companies. Services offered by the commercial banking segment include insurance, pension plan and capitalization products, credit cards, asset management, credit products and customized products and solutions. The commercial banking segment comprises the specialized! areas and products, such as retail banking (individuals); public sector banking; personnalite (banking for high-income individuals); private banking (banking and financial consulting for wealthy individuals); very small business banking; small business banking; middle-market banking; credit cards; real estate financing; asset management; corporate social responsibility fund; securities services for third parties; brokerage, and insurance, private retirement and capitalization products.

The Company�� credit products include personal loans, overdraft protection, payroll loans, vehicles, credit cards, mortgage and agricultural loans, working capital, trade note discount and export. Its investments products include pension plans, mutual funds, time deposits, demand deposit accounts, savings accounts and capitalization plans. Its services include insurance (life, home, credit/cash cards, vehicles, loan protection, among others), exchange, brokerage and others. Its core business is retail banking, which serves individuals with a monthly income below R$7,000. In October 2010, it completed the conversion of branches under the Unibanco brand to the Itau brand and as of December 31, 2010, it had over 15.2 million customers and 4,660 branches and CSBs. Its public sector business operates in all areas of the public sector, including the federal, state and municipal governments (in the executive, legislative and judicial branches). As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 2,300 public sector customers. Itau Personnalite�� focus is delivering financial advisory services by its managers, who understand the specific needs of its higher-income customers; a portfolio of exclusive products and services; special benefits based on the type and length of relationship with the customer, including discounts on various products and services. Itau Personnalite�� customer base reached more than 600,000 individuals as of December 31, 2010. Itau Personnalite customers also have access to Itau Unibanco netwo! rk of bra! nches and ATMs throughout the country, as well as Internet banking and phone.

Itau Private Bank is a Brazilian bank in the global private banking industry, providing wealth management services to approximately 17,951 Latin American clients as of December 31, 2010. The Company serves its customers��needs for offshore wealth management solutions in major jurisdictions through independent institutions in the United States through Banco Itau Europa International and Itau Europa Securities , in Luxembourg through Banco Itau Europa Luxembourg S.A. , in Switzerland through Banco Itau Suisse , in the Bahamas through BIE Bank & Trust Bahamas and in Cayman through Unicorp Bank & Trust Cayman. As of December 31, 2010, it had over 565 very small business banking offices located throughout Brazil and approximately 2,500 managers working for over 1,235,000 small business customers. Loans to very small businesses totaled R$5,981 million as of December 31, 2010. As of December 31, 2010, it had 374 small business banking offices located nationwide in Brazil and nearly 2,500 managers who worked for over 525,000 companies. Loans to small businesses totaled R$28,744 million as of December 31, 2010.

As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 115,000 middle-market corporate customers that represented a range of Brazilian companies located in over 83 cities in Brazil. The Company offers a range of financial products and services to middle-market customers, including deposit accounts, investment options, insurance, private retirement plans and credit products. Credit products include investment capital loans, working capital loans, inventory financing, trade financing, foreign currency services, equipment leasing services, letters of credit and guarantees. The Company also carries out financial transactions on behalf of middle-market customers, including interbank transactions, open market transactions and futures, swaps, hedging and arbitrage transactions. It also offers its middle-market custom! ers colle! ction services and electronic payment services. The Company is able to provide these services for virtually any kind of payment, including Internet office banking. It charges collection fees and fees for making payments, such as payroll, on behalf of its customers.

The Company is engaged in the Brazilian credit card market. Its subsidiaries, Banco Itaucard S.A. (Banco Itaucard) and Hipercard Banco Multiplo S.A. (Hipercard), offers a range of products to 26 million customers as of December 31, 2010, including both accountholders and non-accountholders. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately R$16,271 million in outstanding real estate loans. As of December 31, 2010, it had total net assets under management of R$291,748 million on behalf of approximately 2.1 million customers. The Company also provides portfolio management services for pension funds, corporations, private bank customers and foreign investors. As of December 31, 2010, it had R$184,496 million of assets under management for pension funds, corporations and private bank customers. As of December 31, 2010, the Company offered and managed about 1,791 mutual funds, which are mostly fixed-income and money market funds. For individual customers, it offered 154 funds to its retail customers and approximately 287 funds to its Itau Personnalite customers. Private banking customers may invest in over 600 funds, including those offered by other institutions. Itau BBA�� capital markets group also provides tailor-made mutual funds to institutional, corporate and private banking customers.

The Company provides securities services in the Brazilian capital markets. Its services also include acting as transfer agent, providing services relating to debentures and promissory notes, custody and control services for mutual funds, pension funds and portfolios, providing trustee services and non-resident investor services, and acting as custodian for depositary receipt programs. The Company also provides brokerage services to inte! rnational! customers through its broker-dealer operations in New York, through its London branch, and through its broker-dealers in Hong Kong and Dubai. Its main lines of insurance are life and casualty (excluding Vida Gerador de Benefucio Livre), extended warranties and property. Its policies are sold through its banking operations, independent local brokers, multinational brokers and other channels. As of December 31, 2010, it had 9.9 million in capitalization products outstanding, representing R$2,620 million in liabilities with assets that function as guarantees of R$2,646 million. The Company distributes these products through its retail network, Itau Personnalite and Itau Uniclass branches, electronic channels and ATMs. These products are sold by its subsidiary, Cia. Itau de Capitalizacao S.A.

Itau BBA

Itau BBA is responsible for its corporate and investment banking activities. As of December 31, 2010, Itau BBA offered a portfolio of products and services to approximately 2,400 companies and conglomerates in Brazil. Itau BBA�� activities range from typical operations of a commercial bank to capital markets operations and advisory services for mergers and acquisitions. As of December 31, 2010, its corporate loan portfolio was R$ 76,584 million. In investment banking, the fixed income department was responsible for the issuance of debentures and promissory notes that totaled R$18,888 million and securitization transactions that amounted to R$4,677 million in Brazil in 2010. In addition, Itau BBA advised 35 merger and acquisition transactions with an aggregate deal volume of R$16,973 million in 2010.

Itau BBA is also active in Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES) on-lending to finance large-scale projects, aiming at strengthening domestic infrastructure. In consolidated terms, total loans granted by Itau BBA under BNDES on-lending represented more than R$9,010 million in 2010. Itau BBA focuses on the products and initiatives in the international ! business ! unit, such as structuring long-term, bilateral and syndicated financing, and spot foreign exchange. In addition, in 2010 Itau BBA continued to offer a large number of lines of credit for foreign trade.

Consumer Credit

As of December 31, 2010, its portfolio of vehicle financing, leasing and consortium lending consisted of approximately 3.8 million contracts, of which approximately 71.1% were non-accountholder customers. The personal loan portfolio relating to vehicle financing and leasing reached R$60,254 million in 2010. The Company leased and financed vehicles through 13,706 dealers as of December 31, 2010. Sales are made through computer terminals installed in the dealerships that are connected to its computer network. Redecard S.A. (Redecard) is a multibrand credit card provider in Brazil, also responsible for the capturing, transmission, processing and settlement of credit, debit and benefit card transactions. As of December 31, 2010, the Company held approximately 50% interest in Redecard�� capital stock.

The Company competes with Bradesco, Banco do Brasil S.A. (Banco do Brasil), Banco Santander, Caixa Economica Federal (CEF), BNDES, HSBC, Banco Citibank S.A, Banco de Investimentos Credit Suisse (Brasil) S.A., Banco JP Morgan S.A., Banco Morgan Stanley S.A., Banco Merrill Lynch de Investimentos S.A., Banco BTG Pactual S.A., Banco Panamericano S.A, Citibank S.A., Banco GE Capital S.A. and Banco Ibi S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  And speaking of top dividend stocks with high capital gains potential, next on the list of are Brazilian banking groups Banco Bradesco (BBD) and Banco Itau (ITUB) — two monthly dividend stocks you must consider.

• [By Hilary Kramer]

  Itau Unibanco (ITUB): A lot of investors have never heard of Itau because it’s headquartered in Brazil, but it’s one of the world’s largest financial institutions. With 5,000 branches, 100,000 employees and nearly $500 billion in assets (yes, half a trillion!), ITUB is not just the largest Latin American bank, it is one of the biggest in the world. With proven dominance in Brazil (and Latin America), Itau Unibanco is a go-to financial pick, and it currently yields an attractive 3.5%. I recently recommended that my Inner Circle readers sell ITUB on a nice bounce due to the risk of near-term weakness on economic data out of China, but I�� already looking for an opportunity to get back in.

Hot Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: Bank Of Montreal (BMO)

Bank of Montreal, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of retail banking, wealth management, and investment banking products and solutions in North America and internationally. It offers personal banking products and services to consumers and small businesses, including deposit and investment services, mortgages, consumer credit, small business lending, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services to small business, medium-sized enterprise, and mid-market banking clients comprising lending, deposits, treasury management, and risk management services. The company also offers cards and payments services; investment and wealth advisory services; self-directed investing services; private banking services to high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients; investment fund solutions across a range of channels; pension plans; investment management services; and creditor insurance, and life insurance and annuity products and services. In add ition, it provides capital markets products and services, including equity and debt underwriting, corporate lending and project financing, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and recapitalizations, balance sheet management, liquidity management, merchant banking, securitization, foreign exchange, derivatives, debt and equity research, and institutional sales and trading to corporate, institutional, and government clients. As of October 31, 2010, Bank of Montreal operated and maintained approximately 1,230 bank branches in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD  ) will release its quarterly report on Thursday, and in general, investors have been pleased with the Canadian bank's prospects over the past several months. But in light of surprisingly negative news from rival Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO  ) on Tuesday, Toronto-Dominion Bank will have to demonstrate that it's able to avoid the troubles that hurt its rival's results during the most recent quarter.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On Wednesday, Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO  ) will release its latest quarterly results. With a solid reputation as a strong Canadian financial institution, the bank has benefited from superior conditions in the Canadian economy over the past several years, avoiding much of the trouble that U.S. banks suffered during the financial crisis in 2008.

Hot Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (FMCC)

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) conducts business in the United States residential mortgage market and the global securities market. The Company operates in three segments: Single-family Guarantee, Investments, and Multifamily. The Single-family Guarantee segment reflects results from the Company's single-family credit guarantee activities. The Investments segment reflects results from the Company's investment, funding and hedging activities. The Multifamily segment reflects results from the Company's investment (both purchases and sales), securitization, and guarantee activities in multifamily mortgage loans and securities. The Company conducts its operations in the United States and its territories.

Single-Family Guarantee Segment

In the Company�� Single-family Guarantee segment, it purchases single-family mortgage loans originated by the Company�� seller/servicers in the primary mortgage market. The Company uses the mortgage securitization process to package the purchased mortgage loans into guaranteed mortgage-related securities. The Company guarantees the payment of principal and interest on the mortgage-related security in exchange for management and guarantee fees. The Company�� customers are lenders in the primary mortgage market that originate mortgages for homeowners. These lenders include mortgage banking companies, commercial banks, savings banks, community banks, credit unions, Housing Finance Agency (HFAs), and savings and loan associations. The Company�� customers also service loans in its single-family credit guarantee portfolio.

Mortgage securitization is a process, by which the Company purchase mortgage loans that lenders originate, and pool these loans into mortgage securities that are sold in global capital markets. The United States residential mortgage market consists of a primary mortgage market that links homebuyers and lenders and a secondary mortgage market that links lenders and investors. The Company part! icipates in the secondary mortgage market by purchasing mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities for investment and by issuing guaranteed mortgage-related securities. In the Single-family Guarantee segment, it purchase and securitize single-family mortgages, which are mortgages that are secured by one- to four-family properties. The types of mortgage-related securities it issue and guarantee include PCs, REMICs and Other Structured Securities and Other Guarantee Transactions. The Company also issue mortgage-related securities to third parties in exchange for non-Freddie Mac mortgage-related securities. The non-Freddie Mac mortgage-related securities are transferred to trusts that were specifically created for the purpose of issuing securities, or certificates, in the Other Guarantee Transactions.

Investments Segment

In the Company�� Investments segment, it invests principally in mortgage-related securities and single-family performing mortgage loans, which are funded by other debt issuances and hedged using derivatives. In the Company�� Investments segment, it also provides funding and hedging management services to the Single-family Guarantee and Multifamily segments. The Company�� customers for its debt securities predominantly include insurance companies, money managers, central banks, depository institutions, and pension funds. The Company funds its investment activities by issuing short-term and long-term debt. The Company�� PCs are an integral part of its mortgage purchase program. The Company�� Single-family Guarantee segment purchases many of its mortgages by issuing PCs in exchange for those mortgage loans in guarantor swap transactions. The Company also issue PCs backed by mortgage loans that it purchased for cash.

Multifamily Segment

The Company�� multifamily segment issues Other Structured Securities, but does not issue REMIC securities. The Company multifamily segment also enters into other guarantee commitments for mult! ifamily H! FA bonds and housing revenue bonds held by third parties. The Company acquires a portion of its multifamily mortgage loans from several large seller/servicers.

The Company competes with Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), Mae Federal Housing Administration/the United States Department of Veteran Affairs (FHA/VA) and Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sue Chang]

  On Friday, the Journal reported that the bank agreed to pay roughly $4 billion to the Federal Housing Finance Agency to settle claims that it misled Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) �about the quality of loans sold to them ahead of the 2008 financial crisis.