3 Bank Stocks to Buy in July
Nobody -- and I mean nobody -- likes high interest rates. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is 6.55%, which is a huge difference from just five years ago, when rates were under 3%. And they don't appear to be headed down anytime soon.
But for investors, you can find a silver lining in bank stocks. That's because, while interest rates cause some pain for consumers, they can provide extra profits to banks and other lending institutions.
Banks make a portion of their money from the spread between what they pay depositors and what they earn by lending that money to consumers and businesses. When interest rates are up, as they are now, banks can charge more for mortgages, credit cards, vehicle loans, and commercial loans. That potentially means more net income for the bank and greater profits when banks report quarterly earnings.
Source Fool.com
