But if NCUA really wants to make sure low- and moderate-income individuals are served by credit unions, it would establish meaningful criteria and a system for assessing whether the mission is being accomplished.

The banking industry is losing a valued friend, but we're confident that the committee will maintain the civil and pragmatic approach that Chairman Oxley fostered.

It's been six years in the making, but the lengthy legislative process has helped to produce a thorough, well-thought-out bill.

Banks -- which completely fund the FDIC, from its pencils to premiums -- will be pleased to see their money better spent. And customers should appreciate enhanced coverage levels.

Our concerns about mixing banking and commerce didn't begin with the Wal-Mart application; they were just amplified by it. The industrial loan charter represents a back door through which commercial firms are entering the banking business.

We are not after customers. We are after the managers of large credit unions that are trying to have it both ways -- act like a bank but at the same time continue to use the credit union tax subsidy.

We're at a point where if policymakers (regulators and Congress) don't act, you run a real risk that the wall will crumble.