For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 13, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the latest Industry Outlook. Today's outlook from Zacks Equity Research analyst Ann Heffron discusses the Non-U.S. Banks sector. Highlighted stocks include: Itau Unibanco Banco Multiplo S.A. (ITU), Banco Santander Santiago (SAN) and HDFC Bank Limited (HDB).

Here is the latest on the Non-U.S. Banks sector:

Specific banks that could outperform include Itau Unibanco Banco Multiplo S.A. (ITU) in Brazil, Banco Santander Santiago (SAN) in Chile, and HDFC Bank Limited (HDB) in India.

ITU is the largest bank in Brazil, following the February 2009 merger of Uniao de Bancos Brasileiros S.A. and Banco Itau Holding Financeira S.A. (or Itau), with R$575 billion (US$240 billion) in assets, 4,800 branches, and a 19% share of the Brazilian loan market.

SAN is the largest private bank in Chile (total assets of Ch$21,137 billion or US$33.6

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In general, we believe it is still a bit early to get involved with non-US bank stocks as the fundamental outlook remains weak -- asset quality will continue to deteriorate as individuals and companies default on loans, and revenues should continue to fall as loan growth falters and investment banking faces a dearth of new business in the face of economic slowing.

Consumer job losses and sluggish business conditions are increasing worldwide, which will tend to dampen demand for credit, even assuming banks are capable of lending more. Moreover, these factors will also hurt asset quality and increase losses on the existing "good" loan portfolios, even apart from considerations of toxic assets. Combined with top-line pressure due to weakening economic conditions, non-US banks face a daunting outlook.

That said, we believe that banks in stable emerging economies, such as Chile, Brazil or India, may be more attractive investments, similar to what

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In general, we believe it is still a bit early to get involved with non-US bank stocks as the fundamental outlook remains weak -- asset quality will continue to deteriorate as individuals and companies default on loans, and revenues should continue to fall as loan growth falters and investment banking faces a dearth of new business in the face of economic slowing.

Consumer job losses and sluggish business conditions are increasing worldwide, which will tend to dampen demand for credit, even assuming banks are capable of lending more. Moreover, these factors will also hurt asset quality and increase losses on the existing "good" loan portfolios, even apart from considerations of toxic assets. Combined with top-line pressure due to weakening economic conditions, non-US banks face a daunting outlook.

That said, we believe that banks in stable emerging economies, such as Chile, Brazil or India, may be more attractive investments, similar to what

...

In general, we believe it is still a bit early to get involved with non-US bank stocks as the fundamental outlook remains weak -- asset quality will continue to deteriorate as individuals and companies default on loans, and revenues should continue to fall as loan growth falters and investment banking faces a dearth of new business in the face of economic slowing. Consumer job losses and sluggish business conditions are increasing worldwide, which will tend to dampen demand for credit, even assuming banks are capable of lending more. Moreover, these factors will also hurt asset quality and increase losses on the existing "good" loan portfolios, even apart from considerations of toxic assets. Combined with top-line pressure due to weakening economic conditions, non-US banks face a daunting outlook.That said, we believe that banks in stable emerging economies, such as Chile, Brazil or India, may be more ...

Overall, we continue to maintain a negative outlook on both U.S. and non-U.S. Banks in the near-to-medium term.

The new Financial Stability plan announced by the Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner fell short on the details and we think that the benefits, if any, will take a long time to come by. While the earlier programs launched by the government have helped alleviate the capital and funding concerns to a great extent, the efforts have not succeeded in restoring the lending activity at banks.

It remains to be seen whether these steps and others like them in other countries will be sufficient to restore confidence in the financial system and increase lending.

In the meantime, lower lending activity will continue to hurt the margins though the low interest rate environment should be beneficial to the banks with a liability sensitive balance sheet.

It still remains a bit

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The iShares MSCI Brazil Index (EWZ) is down about 55% for the year, however, in the last month, it has risen over 35%. Brazil companies are on the move. Of the four BRIC countries, Brazil seems to be the country that is in the strongest shape and has the greatest potential. So what Brazilian stocks should you invest in? One resource is the book a href="http://www.lulu.com/content/2138480"Investing in Stocks/a.br /br /If you are looking for a petrochemical company, there is Braskem S.A. (BAK), the largest thermoplastics producer in Brazil. Unfortunately, the company has recently generated negative earnings; however, revenues for the latest quarter were up by 8.9%. br /br /With growth in the rebuilding of infrastructure, the demand for steel should increase, and should benefit Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (SID), the second largest Brazilian steel manufacturer. The stock has a PE of 15.5, and a yield, based on historical payments this year, ...

Brazilian stocks have been pummeled in October’s global market rout. But Martin Hutchinson says this has created a great opportunity for profits. South America’s largest economy still has a robust growth outlook and moderate inflation. He says these six “bargain basement” stocks are now well worth a look.

More from Money Morning:

Like most other markets, Brazil has been battered by the credit crisis – the BOVESPA index is currently down 28% in October alone and no less than 52% from its peak as recently as May. It now appears to represent excellent value, with a historic Price/Earnings (P/E) ratio of only7.0.

But are Brazil’s prospects good enough to justify investing there?

Brazil was included in the “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India and China) group of rapidly emerging markets that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) created in 2003. At that time the country didn’t deserve the distinction. Long-term growth since

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