Wal-Mart To Expand Financial-Service Centers

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, plans to expand its financial-service centers more than fourfold to 1,000 stores by 2009 after abandoning an attempt to start a bank. The MoneyCenters are the most profitable departments in stores, the president of the Wal-Mart Financial Services, Jane Thompson, said in an interview yesterday in New York. The expansion comes a month after the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to block non-financial firms, including retailers, from operating banks.