Keep your eye on bank funding risks...and on banks.....

S&P warns of funding risks beyond Europe and US... | More on http://t.co/8x3DrCkFc7
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) July 18, 2013

(NOTE:  The link in the embedded Tweet above takes you to the FT's "Fast FT" site where you may have to scroll down to find the posting on the S&P bank funding study.  The actual study from S&P was just tweeted and is included here:

S&P Study Compares Funding And Liquidity Risks In Several Banking Systems Around The World. Info here: http://t.co/KtWFjhs7We
— Standard & Poor's (@standardpoors) July 18, 2013 )

  .
 
This analysis (above) from S&P on the state of affairs with global bank funding risks is probably not a siren alarm for an imminent global financial crisis a la 2008.  In particular, US banks are cited as having improved balance sheets and more stable funding sources.  But peripheral countries in Europe and many Emerging Market countries deserve closer scrutiny over time.
Q2 bank earnings in the US have so far been quite impressive on balance....in general, we've seen solid balance sheets, more cleansed risk asset portfolios, some interest spread income....but loan growth has been underwhelming.  In addition, there remains a sword of Damocles over the sector thanks to constant calls for more and more regulation, great uncertainty over how Dodd-Frank will evolve, and ongoing demands for increased capital requirements.
From a performance perspective, the S&P Financial sector, which was scorched in the '08 crisis (first chart below), has been on the comeback for some time (second chart below):

I'm watching the sector closely, though remain quite lite overall.  I'm looking at finding value plays within the sector, for example, Citigroup (C), where leadership change within the institution has already proven more impactful on  valuation than the overall industry headwinds.

Please continue to visit Soos Global Market Musings for updates.
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(Please note: This article is solely meant to be thought provoking and is not in any way meant to be personal investment advice. Each investor is obligated to opine and decide for themselves as to the appropriateness of anything said in this article to their unique financial profile, risk tolerances and portfolio goals).
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Additional Disclaimer: currently long many stocks/ETFs, including Citigroup (C).  Positions may change at any time without notice.