On Thursday Jim Cramer spoke with the CEO of a regional bank that he called 'one of my absolute favorites.'
If you watch Mad Money regularly, you know that the resurgence of regional banks is among Cramer's top themes for 2013.
"Now that the housing market is very much on the mend, and government regulation of financials seems to be done getting worse, I believe the regionals can have their time in the sun," he said.
But of all the banks in the space, Cramer said KeyCorp was one of his absolute favorites.
The latest earnings reports supports his bullish outlook.
"Sure enough, KeyCorp reported an excellent quarter, with net interest income up 14 basis points and 7% loan growth on an annualized basis," said Cramer.
The resulting price action however may be a little confusing.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but "the stock initially got dinged on the news, falling about 30 cents before bouncing back because expectations had gotten so high," he added.
Key is finally trading above where it was when it delivered those results and with a 2.2% yield, Cramer thinks this bank belongs on your radar..
"I know Bernstein downgraded the stock to sell," he added. "But I think we look back and laugh at that call."
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