Wal-Mart and a Bank
Research Paper
In the United States, finding a Wal-Mart store is too easy. We see big blue signs of “Wal-Mart” in every town. Wal-Mart exists in every city, except major cities such as Chicago and New York City. The giant distributing company, Wal-Mart, wants to enter the banking business. According to the article, “Coming Soon: A Wal-Mart Bank?” ( Pasha, 2005), in July 2005, Wal-Mart applied to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) to enter the banking business. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will make a decision on this issue before spring of 2006. Wal-Mart hopes to save 140 million dollars in bank processing fees per month. Actually, the project that Wal-Mart wants to start its own bank is not starting for the first time. According to Pasha, “In 2002, Wal-Mart attempted to purchase Franklin Bank of California, but this was also blocked by the California legislature.” (2005, par. 6), Wal-Mart is trying to save credit or debit card processing fees. According to the article, “Wal-Mart Wants To Own Processing Bank,” (Cards & Payments and SourceMedia, 2005). by operating its own processing bank, they are expecting to save about one billion dollars per year. The Wal-Mart application indicates two plans. One is they want to operate an Industrial Loan Corporation (ILC). Another plan is a credit card business. Wal-Mart bank will change the banking market in the United States, and threaten small regional and community banks. According to The Economic Times, “Wal-Mart’s interest has doubtless helped its partners, such as MoneyGram, in wire transfers” (2005, par. 5). As I mentioned earlier Wal-Mart bank may introduce a lot of negative side effects to the society. Usually, when a company applies for banking services, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation receives about one dozen letters, but according to Davis, in the Wal-Mart case, “the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation had received 1,550 comment letters as of the end of October, 2005, many from bankers, and the majority of them were negative.” (2005, par.1). Most bankers do not want Wal-Mart to enter banking services, because Wal-Mart bank will threaten their profits and their survival. In 2005, Wal-Mart applied to enter their own processing bank, and the year changed to 2006, but the resistance groups are still opposed as they were last year. (Pasha, 2006, par. 1).
It is urgent that are consider why Wal-Mart wants to get its own processing bank and why we should not let Wal-Mart enter a banking service. If Wal-Mart succeeds entering its own processing bank, what benefits Wal-Mart would get? We have to recognize the government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in Utah, will allow Wal-Mart’s application or not. Also, we should research politicians’ position about Wal-Mart bank and we should research other companies or banks’ position about this Wal-Mart bank issue.
We should think why Wal-Mart wants to get its own processing bank. “Wal-Mart has loudly complained about the interchange fees that the card associations set for card acceptance” (Cards&Payments and SourceMedia, 2005, par. 11). Wal-Mart spends approximate 1 billion dollar per year for credit and debit card processing fees. Wal-Mart expects to save a lot of money by having its own processing bank. Nowadays, people prefer credit cards or debit cards to cash or check to pay because of their convenience. Wal-Mart accepts payments by credit or debit cards, but Wal-Mart does not want to pay processing fees. Wal-Mart wants to reduce those fees. Wal-Mart spokesman said, “The company has no plan to create branches or provide lending services to consumers” (Pasha, 2005, par. 3). He added that they would never see consumers in their Salt Lake City building. (Pasha, 2005, par. 3).
We should not let Wal-Mart enter a banking service for a lot of regional and community banks. Although a Wal-Mart spokesman said that they have no interest in branches, “Wal-Mart has the financial resources to do the same thing to community banks as community grocery stores – to drive them out of business” (The Economic Times, 2005, par. 5). As The Economic Times published, most regional and community banks’ survival are threatened by Wal-Mart banks. Although Wal-Mart will not create branches, regional and community banks are threaten by Wal-Mart bank’s exists. Many regional and community banks get a lot of profits from debit card processing fees and loan services. So, if Wal-Mart starts credit card and loan services, regional and community banks will have a lot of customers stolen by Wal-Mart Bank. Also, it will create employment problem by closed banks. Continuously, these problems will make other problems. We should not let Wal-Mart enter a banking service for the community.
If Wal-Mart succeeds in starting its own processing bank, what benefits will Wal-Mart get? Wal-Mart spends about 1 billion dollars for credit and debit card processing fees each year. If they enter the credit card services, they expect to save or to reduce the huge money that was spent for credit and debit card processing fees. “Wal-Mart received more than 140 million credit, debit and electronic cheque payments per month, and pays a small fee to process each transaction.” (Davis, 2005, par. 4). In addition, they will earn a lot of money from credit and debit services. Wal-Mart’s banking service plan included two services. Another service is a loan service for a small business or house plan. Wal-Mart has a lot of money from their distributing business. Therefore, they will advertise lower-rate loan service as their lower-price slogan promises. After they start that plan, many customers will move to Wal-Mart bank because of the lower loan service rate. Absolutely, they will earn a lot of money from loan services too. In conclusion, they can save a lot of money from credit and debit card processing fees, earn a lot of money from credit and debit card processing fees, and earn a lot of money from loan services.
We have to recognize whether the government, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in Utah, will allow Wal-Mart’s application or not. Still in February 2006, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation does not published what their position is. “Members of Congress went on to ask Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to hold public hearing on the application due to the unusually large response to the Wal-Mart Bank proposal from banks and consumers” (Pasha, 2006, par. 7). The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has already received 1,700 letters, which are against this issue. As voices, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has to consider this issue. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation cannot conclude easily because of the opposite voices.
We should research politicians’ position about Wal-Mart bank. In 1998, Wal-Mart tried to buy a bank, but it was halted by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999. Also, in 2002, the California legislature blocked Wal-Mart from buying a bank. “Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is urging Congress to close a regulatory loophole that lets companies own a certain breed of banks, including a bank Wal-Mart Stores Inc. wants to operate in Utah” (Aversa, 2006, par. 1). Other companies such as General Motors, General Electric, Pitney Bowes and BMW have their own industrial loan companies bank and Wal-Mart applied for a bank service to the FDIC in Utah. In the United States, industrial loan companies have grown more than 3,500 percent in the last 17 years, from 3.8 billion dollars to 140 billion dollars, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said (Aversa, 2006, par. 4). In the United States, financial market seems to be overheating the economy. At this point, the giant company, Wal-Mart, comes to the financial market; it will encourage the overheated economy in the United States. As Greenspan’s speech, the financial market is very a attractable market. That’s why companies want to start to own processing bank. The financial market looks like a golden goose.
We should research other companies and banks’ position about Wal-Mart bank. Most financial companies do not want Wal-Mart to enter its own processing bank. As I wrote about before, regional and community banks will get damages from Wal-Mart banks. Even though, Wal-Mart spokesmen said, Wal-Mart has no plan to create branches, most bankers cannot trust that because they already lied about their business. The ICBA president and chief executive Camden Fine said, “Fifteen years ago, Wal-Mart said, it had no designs on the grocery business and 20 years ago, they said they had no designs on the hardware business but now they dominate both business.” (Pasha, 2006, par. 10). The banks, and other financial companies worried that Wal-Mart will change their voice as they did in the past.
The Wal-Mart bank story is a big issue in the financial market in the United States. Most bankers are not willing to accept Wal-Mart bank as easily as some politicians. The society already recognized what kind of problems Wal-Mart has produced so far. More social and economic problems are not welcome. Some customers may like the idea of Wal-Mart bank. Customers may be to reduce loan-charges. Also, it is true that people can avoid ATM processing fees because Wal-Mart stores are everywhere. We need to realize that creating a new large bank is not very necessary in the United States at this point. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has to consider opening Wal-Mart banks. In my opinion, small businesses are never protected by big businesses. Almost always large companies put small businesses out of business easily. Wal-Mart will put those small regional and community banks out of business quickly if it jumps to the banking business. Closing down those small banks will create first, unemployment, and second, economic unbalance. Wal-Mart has to consider this issue on people and economic accounts not for their benefit only. Wal-Mart, as a big business, should be able to recognize its obligation to protect local businesses, as they have a right to develop their business, if they really care for economic harmony.
References
Aversa, J. (2005, Jan. 27). Greenspan urges congress to end banking exemption used by Wal-Mart, The Associated Press State & Local Wire. Retrieved Feb. 22, 2006 from Lexis-Nexis.
Cards & Payments and SourceMedia. (2005, Sep. 22). Wal-Mart Wants to Own Processing Bank, Cards&Payments and SourceMedia, Inc. Retrieved Jan. 22, 2006, from Lexis-Nexis.
Davis, C. (2005, Nov. 30). Record resistance to Wal-Mart’s banking bid, Retail Banker International, Retrieved Feb. 22, 2006 from Lexis-Nexis.
Irvin, D. (2005, Sep. 1). Bankers warily watch Wal-Mart, Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved Feb. 22, 2006 from Lexis-Nexis.
Pasha, S. (2005, Oct. 27). Coming soon: A Wal-Mart bank? CNNMoney. Retrieved Jan. 24, 2006 from Lexis-Nexis.
Pasha, S. (2006, Jan. 4). Wal-Mart Bank faces tough opposition, CNNMoney. Retrieved Feb. 22, 2006 from Lexis-Nexis.
The Economic Times. (2005, Sep. 7). Supercentre Banking. The Economic Times. Retrieved Feb. 22, 2006 from Lexis-Nexis.
Wal-Mart History Timeline. (n.d.) Arkansas Public School Computer Network Retrieved Feb. 22, 2006 from Arkansas Public School Computer Network

