mahony

Hingham Institution for Savings: America's Cheapest Bank Stock

Another reason to like it: The areas served by the bank are historically desirable areas. In the real estate bust of the early 90's these desirable towns saw price decreases that were significantly lower than the cities and "less desirable towns". When going to bank auctions at the time you could see the difference between zip code.

This banks portfolio probably represents a higher quality of portfolio in the sense that people are still trying to buy into those neigborhoods that offer peace, security (financial and otherwise) and nice living near the ocean and high-paying employers.