The National Association of Realtors is urging new Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to weigh in against efforts by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to operate a bank in Utah.

“We ask that, early in your term, you actively oppose” Wal-Mart’s application now pending before the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the association said in a letter to Bernanke released Thursday.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart is seeking to operate a special breed of bank called an industrial loan company, or ILC, in Utah. It wants to do this so that it can process credit card, debit card and electronic check transactions from its retail locations.