Will the debate about bank models be superceded by other players? In the UK Tesco is now offering financial products including savings, loans, mortgges and insurance, directly.

Wal-Mart tried to get into the business in the US a couple of years ago by buying a rather obscure sort of banking license, but bank opposition managed to kill it. However, in Mexico it has banks in 425 store and more than 150,000 customers, according to a recent note by Bill Evans in Informationweek.

With some experience and an IT infrastructure, perhaps now is the time to expand into other countries as well. Somehow I think that banks will have a harder time persuading legislators or the public that only they are qualified to offer financial services.

Where’s Virgin in all this? They were making inroads a few years ago but have pretty much gone quiet … Anyone else want to build on a hot brand and high street or online presence to get into finance?

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