Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK) revealed its portfolio today in a mandatory Schedule 13F filing with the SEC. The regulatory filing showed the billionaire investor increasing his holdings in banks, including Bancorp, which he was rumored to be considering for acquisition. Investors are carefully watching the investors actions as it could mean an opportunity for them to piggyback on his famous market knowledge.

Buffet added to his stakes in three large U.S. banks, including Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, and Bank of America. He also disclosed a new stake CarMax Inc. (NYSE:KMX), which surprised many investors since the auto industry is not expected to turn for some time now. The timing is also questionable as the company appears to be headed towards a recession and car loans are becoming more scarce.

Wells Fargo made the news in another way today after its CEO said that its exposure to CDO's and asset-backed commercial paper is minimal. He also noted that the U.S. housing market is now the worst since the Great Depression and is far from over. This dropped many bank stocks while Wells Fargo traded higher on news that its own exposure was limited.

The banking market is still being hit hard from subprime and credit market concerns that have caused deep losses in many investment banks like Merrill Lynch and even brokerages like E*Trade. Whether or not we have hit a bottom remains to be seen, but it appears that Warren Buffet may be predicting a bottom coming relatively soon given his large move.

In the end, this is good news for the banking industry and very interesting news for investors who are sitting on the sidelines. Buffet has been involved with the banking world through several crisises like this one (read: LTCM) and has experience in the industry. Combined, these factors make the banking industry worth watching closely!

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