Cramer: Two banks that should be bought

(Click for video linked to a searchable transcript of this Mad Money segment)

Cramer has been skeptical of the financials lately. However, he's not skeptical of all financials.

"If these two banks can make this much money in this environment, who knows how much they can make if the economy ever gets moving," Cramer said. "That's what I thought after talking to Jamie Dimon and listening to the conference call of Wells Fargo, the largest mortgage lender in the country."

JPMorgan

After talking with CEO Jamie Dimon live on CNBC's Squawk on the Street, Cramer said he felt pretty certain that JP Morgan can figure out a way to make money no matter what.

Looking at JPMorgan's recent earnings release, Cramer said JPMorgan made huge amounts of money in trading, both equities and fixed income. That he says was how JPMorgan was able to generate $6.5 billion this quarter, a 31% surge in profits.

"That alone would make me want to buy this stock if my charitable trust didn't already own it, because it shows how many levers this gigantic commercial bank with the fortress balance sheet has within its enterprise," Cramer said

Looking at the price action, it's clear that not everyone is as enthusiastic as Jim Cramer. Despite the profit surge, shares closed modestly lower on Friday.

"That happened because, in the end, the lifeblood of a bank is lending, and the lending at JPMorgan was tepid," Cramer explained.

Danil Melekhin | E+ | Getty Images

However, Cramer thinks turning a cold shoulder to the stock because of a 14% drop in mortgage banking income would be a mistake.

If JP Morgan can make $6.5 billion without their core business of lending being on fire, then again, I ask what happens when things get better? I bet JPMorgan shows a dramatic increase in earnings," Cramer said.

Wells Fargo

Don't ignore Wells Fargo because of confusing headlines, Cramer says Wells Fargo earnings were nothing short of stunning.

The Mad Money hosts concedes that some of the metrics could have been better.

For example, Wells Fargo made $112 billion of home loans in the quarter, down from $131 billion a year earlier but up from $109 billion in the first quarter.

Also, Wells Fargo had a 22 percent share of the U.S. mortgage market in the first quarter, down from 27.7 percent at the end of the 2012 fourth quarter, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, an industry publication.

However, Cramer said the following metrics matter more.

"Going into this quarter there were plenty of fears that business may have slowed because of higher rates, or that the Wells didn't make as much money from its net interest margin, or that its expenses, which had been pretty heavy, would stay heavy. But Wells Fargo blew away the numbers on every one of those lines and also delivered an acceleration in loan growth along with a terrific increase in return on equity."

That Cramer says is the real takeaway and he finds it very bullish.

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All told, the Mad Money host thinks both Wells and JPMorgan are buys at current levels. "Both are inexpensive," he said. "And both should be winners in an environment where interest rates go higher because, one day, at long last, American business will indeed get better and stay better. Both can and should be bought."

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