Wal-Mart has so far been stymied on entering the banking business. Who needs to be a bank when you can be a stock broker? From the Wall Street Journal:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has teamed with discount brokerage ShareBuilder Corp. to offer low-cost investment services, marking the retailer’s initial expansion of its financial-services offerings since abandoning its bid to start an industrial bank.

Advertisement

Bellevue, Wash.-based ShareBuilder won’t share revenue from the service with Wal-Mart because of securities regulations prohibiting such arrangements, said Jeff Seely, ShareBuilder’s chairman and chief executive. Wal-Mart introduced the service, titled Wal-Mart Easy Investing by ShareBuilder, early this month with a link on its Web site. It soon will begin promoting the service in its U.S. stores, too.

Be a part of something bigger

As a reader of the Arkansas Times, you know we’re dedicated to bringing you tough, determined, and feisty journalism that holds the powerful accountable. For 50 years, we've been fighting the good fight in Little Rock and beyond – with your support, we can do even more. By becoming a subscriber or donating as little as $1 to our efforts, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers to expand our coverage and continue to bring important stories to light. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, it's clear that our readers value our great journalism. Join us in the fight for truth.

Previous article Huckabee: Nixes sex ed Next article Gas prices — a record