As
The Nation's Liza Featherstone reminds us:
Utah is reviewing Wal-Mart's application for a bank charter. A coalition of labor unions, community groups, small bankers and other Wal-Mart critics has been urging the FDIC to hold hearings around the country before deciding the merits of Wal-Mart's application, and to compel Wal-Mart to disclose more information on how its new enterprise would affect local economies.
The small bankers also worry that the Wal-Mart bank, though based in Utah, could begin operating chapters in other states, threatening local lending institutions nationwide. And they worry about mixing commerce and banking. "If I'm the Wal-Mart Bank, how enthusiastic am I going to be about lending money to Wal-Mart's competitors?" asks Steve Verdier, senior vice president of the Independent Community Bankers of America. Even apart from the fair competition issues, he thinks, Wal-Mart's bank could wreak havoc on the economy: "Just think if Enron had opened a bank."
And let's not forget the blatant hypocrisy here:
Community advocates like ACORN are particularly troubled that Wal-Mart is trying to exempt its Utah bank from the Community Reinvestment Act, which requires financial institutions to make credit available in the low- and moderate-income communities in which they operate, and has sometimes been a genuine impetus to economic development in poor neighborhoods. You'd think a company trying desperately to become black America's new best friend wouldn't be trying to get out of its minimal legal obligations to poor communities of color.
Wal-Mart Watch has an online petition going for the FDIC. This fight is winnable. If you haven't already, go sign today.
JR