Consultant:The Outlook for Banking-should you buy bank shares

For the next 10 years,we probably will be seeing much tighter regulations for banks,says Dino Kos of consultancy Hamiltonian Associates.The returns probably will be lower for the next decade.Regulators want to see capital cushions-and the more the better-to absorb losses,and that's gonna have an effect on return on equity. Some of the banks are shrinking,but I don't see that the industry or big banks as a whole are going to be shrinking.For banks with legacy issues,such as Bank of America with housing,it's gonna take several quarters-perhaps a number of years-to resolve them,Mr.Kos believes. Hamiltonian Associates Ltd. is a consultancy specialising in analysis of recent economic and political developments in a relevant,timely and incisive way.It has associates in New York,London and Singapore.Dino Kos is former Executive Vice President of the New York Fed. Bank of America(BAC)