Securities firms, retailers could enter banking

Friday's Washington Post has an article by Kathleen Day regarding proposed legislation that would allow retailers and manufacturers to own full service banks nationwide.

At issue is whether Congress should expand the power of obscure entities known as industrial loan companies. These state-chartered, limited-purpose banks -- which operate in Utah, California, Colorado, Nevada and Minnesota -- generally specialize in one area, such as offering credit cards. The owners of these companies are not regulated by the Federal Reserve and may include automakers, discount department stores and other firms that are largely unrelated to financial services.