Democrats Urge Rejection Of Wal-Mart Bank Bid

A group of 32 Democrats in the House called on the FDIC last week to reject the controversial application from retail giant Wal-Mart Stores for an industrial bank charter. The group, which would normally hold little sway because both the House and Senate are controlled by Republicans, may have more influence with the FDIC because its new chairman is Martin Gruenberg, former top Democratic staffer at the Senate Banking Committee. The group said it is worried that Wal-Mart will adopt predatory pricing, as it is charged with doing in retailing, to threaten community banks and credit unions. "This not only threatens community banks and credit unions but national banking institutions as well," they said.

The Journal's Ed Roberts can be contacted at eroberts cuournal.com. (c) 2006 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

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