Bank of America Corp (BAC), American International Group Inc (AIG): 10 Shocking and Overlooked Comparisons (in Graphs!)

7. Real estate prices only go up, right?

Source: Robert Shiller.

Yes, you’re reading that chart right — it says 1894. These readings are based on index data from Yale professor and housing market guru Robert Shiller. “Real” prices take into account inflation. Based on this index, real home prices are actually lower than when Glover Cleveland was running the country.

8. Location, location, location

Source: Wells Fargo presentation and BofI 10-K.

BofI Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:BOFI), the parent company to Bank of Internet, is trying to change the way people bank by conducting its business over — you guessed it — the Internet. The bank has just one physical location — its headquarters in San Diego. In contrast, Wells Fargo has more physical locations than Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson has career yards (8,849).

9. Weathering the hard times

Source: S&P Capital IQ.

No bank escaped the wrath of the financial crisis, but some banks weathered the storm better than others. Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) and  JPMorgan Chase have each only reported one quarterly net loss since 2003.

10. Market retreat

Source: Bipartisan Policy center tabulations of data from Inside Mortgage Finance, “Mortgage and Asset Securities Issuance,” Inside MBS & ABS.

As a result of the financial crisis, the term “mortgage-backed security” conjures up images of massive losses and financial panic in the minds of many investors. However, not all MBSes are created equally. MBSes backed by agencies, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are considered ultra-safe. On the other hand, non-agency MBSes are backed by private insurance and caused many of the losses during the financial crisis. In 2006, non-agency MBSes held a dominant position in the MBS-univserse, but today, supply has wilted as demand has evaporated.

The article 10 Shocking and Overlooked Comparisons (in Graphs!) originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by David Hanson.

David Hanson owns shares of JPMorgan Chase and AIG. The Motley Fool recommends AIG, Bank of America, BofI Holding, MasterCard, Visa, and Wells Fargo, owns shares of AIG, Bank of America, BofI Holding, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, MasterCard, and Wells Fargo, and has options on AIG.

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