Home Depot Drops Plans to Buy Bank

Atlanta, Home Depot Inc. has scrapped a plan to buy a bank as it focuses on shoring up its retail business.

The company in 2006 had announced plans to buy EnerBank USA, a Utah loan provider, from CMS Energy Corp.

"Earlier this week, we informed EnerBank that we no longer intend to acquire the company," Home Depot spokesman Ron DeFeo said on Friday. "This acquisition is no longer a part of our strategy and we are turning our attention to our core retail business.”

The decision comes as the clock winds down this month on a bank industry-backed moratorium to keep retailers out of banking.