I think the point of owning shares of any company is to own a stake in that business, not because of what the stock price is doing. People have become so desensitized by investing in mutual funds that they forget that when you buy shares in a stock, you are buying an ownership piece in that business.

 Last time I checked, BAC still had 10% of the nation's depository base. They are still the number one commerical bank in the country in terms of presence and they are still the pre-eminent franchise in the banking industry. In other words, yes business may be bad, but it is not a bad business.

 Right now, BAC is trading at below book value. 10% of America's deposits and its below book value. It's not a question of if it will bounce back, it's a question of when. C and WB have got real problems with writedowns, BAC does too but to a much lesser degree. They didn't come out of it quite as rosy as JPM, but they still have more customers than anybody else, which means more people who can pay fees and interest charges.

No question, BAC has its work cut out for it---no pun intended. Nevertheless, it's still a great long-term business to own. That's why I do.