The KBW Bank (stock) Index has soared 33 percent during the past year, and many money managers are optimistic the gains can continue, especially among banks that emphasize lending.

Banks are poised to benefit from accelerating economic growth, job gains and increases in long-term interest rates, the investment managers tell The Wall Street Journal. The first two factors increase demand for loan growth and the final one increases banks' revenue.

"With all signs pointing to a strong economy this year, financial [stocks] are attractive," John Carey, manager of Pioneer Investments' $5.3 billion Pioneer Fund, tells The Journal.

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He's on the prowl for financial stocks this year.

Strength in the housing and auto industries will push loan demand higher, some experts tell the paper.

Home prices soared 13.6 percent in the 12 months through October, a seven-year high, according to the S&P Case-Shiller index. And auto sales hit a six-year peak for 2013.

"There's still tremendous pent-up demand," Phil Orlando, chief equity strategist and portfolio manager at Federated Investors, explains.

Federated recently bought Wells Fargo stock based on the housing strength, according to the paper.

Not everyone is bullish on bank shares. "It could be difficult for stock prices to generate similar gains in 2014," Terry McEvoy, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., tells Bloomberg. Banks are still working in "a challenging environment to grow revenue," he notes.

Bank of America analyst Erika Najarian wrote in a commentary last month that bank revenue "may not heal" this year, and banks can't keep cutting credit costs to lift earnings per share, Bloomberg reports.

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