Following the recent crisis in the financial sector, some banks may now offer investors a glimmer of hope, says The Share Centre.

According to Nick Raynor, investment adviser at The Share Centre, ‘Having battled through waves of bad debts and the ups and downs of the market, the banks have emerged battered and in some cases remoulded, but basically intact.’

He adds, ‘Barclays remains our preferred bank, having proven resilient despite the challenges of the past 12 months. On Monday the bank posted pre-tax profits of £2.98 billion, an 8 per cent rise on last year. Barclays doesn't owe the government any money and it has fended off questions concerning its exposure to toxic debt, by passing the Financial Service Authority's stress test earlier this year.

‘HSBC has also proven to be something of a safe harbour for investors as, like Barclays, it avoided government support. The bank also posted pre-tax profits of £2.98 billion on Monday, although this figure was about half of what the bank made in the same period a year ago. However, its Far East origins have stood the bank in good stead and it looks well placed to develop new business in the future.’

On Wednesday, Lloyds Banking Group reported an underlying loss of £4 billion, blaming its merger with HBOS for 80 per cent of its debts. HBOS's lending cancelled out the £6 billion pre-tax profit Lloyds made in the first half of the year.

However, Raynor points out that most of these poor-quality loans are now effectively insured by the taxpayers, which he says is good news for shareholders.

And finally, RBS, which is 70 per cent owned by the taxpayer, has reported a profit of £15 million, despite write-downs of £7.5 billion in the first six months of the year.

‘The bank's results were refreshingly honest, highlighting its net loss as "poor",’ says Raynor. ‘On top of this, the bank's chief executive, Stephen Hester, warned that he does not expect the bank to recover until 2011.

‘Given the ongoing volatility within the sector, we continue to list both Barclays and HSBC as a hold for low- to medium-risk investors. However, investors with a bigger appetite for risk looking to buy within the sector could consider buying Barclays. As Lloyds has the biggest exposure to UK consumer debt, we are listing the bank as a tentative weak hold, and in view of RBS's bleak outlook we are advising investors to considering selling.’