Banks and Intesa Sanpaolo

italian banks: The Economist is always a little too harsh on Italy, according to Market Watch. But even discounting for that, the analysis of Italian banks and how rotten and risky they are — and, by extension, the country — was just savage. It trashed Italian banks under a magazine cover portraying a bus sporting Italy colors, teetering on the edge of a cliff. A breakup of Europe is unlikely. Predictably, since then my favorite Italian bank — which I have owned for a while and will continue to hold — is already up about 7%. The bank, Intesa Sanpaolo ISNPY, +2.33% is still a buy, and not only for the nice 7.8% yield . As The Economist rightly points out, Intesa Sanpaolo is one of Italy largest banks, but it is safer than many others. So banks trading down on these fears look attractive. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.