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CIAO DATE: 6/5/2006
The Wal-Bank Principle
Peter J. Wallison
May 2006
Abstract
In opposing Wal-Mart's application to acquire a bank-like institution in Utah, the banking industry is hurting its own prospects for growth and expansion.
At the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) recent hearings on Wal-Mart's application to acquire a bank-like institution in Utah that can accept FDIC-insured deposits, a representative of the National Association of Realtors testified that such an acquisition would violate the principle separating banking and commerce. No doubt the banks savored this rare support from the realtors, but what they may not have realized is that the joke is on them.