Although this credit crisis is not yet over (I think the next big shoe to drop will be in commercial real estate in the months ahead) and the perma-bulls are likely too bullish on financials as a whole, it isn't wrong to be looking for a few bargains in the banking arena.

The most intriguing bets? Companies which have the wherewithal to make acquisitions at bargain basement levels. Regardless of what you think of the Bear Stears debacle, for example, we'll be looking back years from now realizing that JP Morgan got an absolute steal.

Two UK banks are worth looking at along these lines.  Lloyd's (LLOY LN) is reported to be looking at takeover opportunities close to home of targets trading below book value, though investors should keep in mind that in coming days the company is likely to be hit by a $2BB legal claim from British pension funds it advised a few years ago.

Perhaps more interesting is Barclays (BCS), which is clearly anxious to buy an investment bank and lost out on its bid to acquire ABN Amro last year-- a blessing, in retrospect. Now, it is reported to be eyeing struggling investment banks. Lehman (LEH) and UBS AG (UBS) stand as possible targets.

No big rush on either of these, but very much worth keeping an eye on...