NAR’s fight to keep banks out of the real estate business has taken many forms, including an assertive campaign to keep mega-retail giant Wal-Mart from receiving federal approval to become a financial institution – a battle that ended in victory last week as Wal-Mart withdrew its application. “As NAR has written, testified and continued to discuss, mixing banking and commerce puts our national economy at risk,” said NAR President Pat Vredevoogd Combs in a statement. “When commercial firms are allowed to engage in banking, the bank functions under an inherent conflict of interest. This conflict imposes unnecessary risks to the financial system of the bank, the parent corporation, and the national economy.”