Bloomberg reported that for all the efforts to regulate banks since Lehman Brothers collapsed, stock investors have no more faith in U.S. financial institutions now than they did in early 2008, relative to the rest of the market.

Bloomberg noted that tighter regulation and reduced risks have failed to restore confidence that bank profits will be worth paying more for, even as analysts project earnings at financial firms will expand three times more than the S&P 500 this year.

Bloomberg added that while the S&P 500 Index trades at a level that’s 16.2 times reported operating earnings, up 11% from this time last year, banks, brokers and insurers are at 13.2 times profits, the cheapest among ten American industries. Even after financial shares tripled in the four-year bull market, the gap between their valuations and the S&P 500 is as wide as in early 2008.

To read the full Bloomberg story click here.