You give them your money, why not have them give you some of theirs?

If you're thinking of investing in a bank stock, you've got some homework to do. Changes in banking regulations, industry consolidation, and offbeat valuation techniques make putting your money in bank stocks a little more interesting than with many industries.

A few Fools have written features that make sense of the industry. Check out the Motley Fool's Industry Snapshot of Big Banks. It gives you their history, talks about the new laws that affect the industry, and even explains how to value them.

For a good example of a large-cap bank, take a look at NationsBank. This North Carolina-based institution is slowly but surely taking over Dixie. It also has a large presence in the Washington D.C. metro area surrounding Fool HQ.

And for an insightful look at merger mania in the industry, check out TMF Templr's Fool on the Hill column on NationsBank's acquisition of Barnett Bank. (If you don't understand what he's talking about, go back and read the Industry Snapshot first.) If you like what you read here, don't forget that "Fool on the Hill" is a daily column that appears in our Evening News.

And once you're up to speed on the ins and outs of the industry, go throw in your two cent's worth on the NationsBank message board.

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