Jim Cramer:
“If the Fed moved from strict mark to market accounting, the biggest beneficiaries may not be the huge banks that rallied so hard. It could be Bank of New York one of the two companies that have otherwise basically no mortgage exposure so if the accounting rules change like we accept these two will soar…It’s a huge change and only a handful of people expect it and my sources, I think they know now you should absolutely not buy State Street or Bank of New York tomorrow. This is a slow and deliberate jail break. Tomorrow, the president is meeting with the big bank CEOs to talk about TARP…It’s why I’m telling you to wait until Monday when this meeting is over and the potential damage is done before you pull the trigger, and I do want you to pull the trigger because I have a good hand on these accounting rules on State Street and Bank of New York. Buy them on weakness. We never chase on this show. We buy weakness. They’re in great businesses.

The bottom line, we’re springing back Bank of New York and State Street, do your homework. I don’t think you should buy until Monday because of the President’s meeting with the CEOs. If these accounting standards I talked about are changed and Bank of New York and State Street will lead the comeback with a wave of an accounting wand, they could have the least risk and the most reward. If you get the bank stock sell-off, I want you to reach for State Street and Bank of New York first and save the rest for later.”

Ockham’s take