Wal-Mart’s application for a bank license so it can process its own credit cards has created an unprecedented national furore for the FDIC, reports the New York Times. So much furore, in fact, that the agency is holding the first public hearing it has ever held.

The issue is the applicant, according to the paper. No other company attracts so many detractors who claim it depresses wages and wipes out small business, or supporters who say that its prices improve the lives of poorer people and that it provides plenty of jobs in parts of the country where work is hard to find.

The super store is no longer seeking an exemption from community investment requirements. And it has plenty of character witnesses like the Salvation Army. But the big issue apart from the Wal-Mart issue is whether this is the foot-in-the-door to allow Wal-Mart to operate banks in its stores.

Bankers organizations have consistently come out against the proposal, fearing they would we wiped from main streets across the nation. As one leader told the Business Press: “They have the ability to run us out of business but when they are the last ones standing, they are a for-profit. If you look at small shops, hardware stores, it has happened time and again (with Wal-Mart).”

And so it has but if there is a problem, and it’s far from clear there is, it’s the indusrial loan corporations laws that need review. If Wal-Mart wants a very specific license then it should be given a license if it qualifies.

But you’ve got to be a bit suspicious of other banks taking such an interest. Financial service companies have periodically tried themselves to become one-stop shops for insurance, stocks as well as banking so they’re hardly in a strong position to criticise others who might want to compete.