Wal-Mart Bank Faces Tough Opposition

By Shaheen Pasha, CNNMoney.com

It’s a new year and the fate of Wal-Mart Bank still hangs in the balance.

In July 2005, the world’s largest retailer filed an application with the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to operate an industrial bank. The company said the bank would be narrowly focused on processing the company’s credit, debit and electronic check payments which could save the company millions of dollars in fees that Wal-Mart currently pays out to other banking institutions.

But skeptics viewed the proposal with wariness and despite assurances from the company that Wal-Mart, known for its aggressive retailing tactics, has no interest in branch banking, the banking industry has been in an uproar to prevent the FDIC from approving the application.

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