i agree that if you are looking for income the energy trusts are a much better bet than the banks. when oil is in the 40's, it is below the cost of production for conventional oil, much less the oil sands or other unconventional energy, so oil is bound to go higher, and probably sooner rather than later.

more importantly, the oil and gas trusts have real assets, and no one really knows what the banks own. if mining companies are considered to be burning candles, banks must be sparklers, so it's not a good idea to hold them too long. look at this chart of the market caps of banks from all around the world. with performance like this, you'd want to get in and out very quickly, because you never know when the next $10 billion loss will be announced.