Visa Posts $861 Million Loss This Year on Legal Costs (Update1)

Visa Inc., the greatest credit-card
company, had an $861 million loss this twelvemonth on $2.65 billion in
litigation costs, most from settling an antimonopoly lawsuit brought
by competing American Express Co.

Legal disbursals reversed additions for the San Francisco-based
company. Gross in the financial twelvemonth ended Sept. Thirty rose 33
percent to $5.19 billion, Visa said today in a regulatory
filing. The loss compares with net income of $453 million in 2006,
Visa said.

Visa's Nov. Seven colony with American Express, the third-
largest credit-card network, cleared the manner for its planned
initial populace offering next year. The company desires to
capitalize on consumers' growth penchant for recognition and debit
cards over hard cash and checks. MasterCard Inc., the No. Two network,
has gained more than than 400 percentage since going public in May 2006.

American Express sued Visa in November 2004 after the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled Visa and MasterCard violated antimonopoly laws
by preventing member Banks from offering challenger cards. Citigroup
Inc. and Depository Financial Institution of United States Corp., the two greatest U.S. banks,
later agreed to offer American Express services.

Visa booked a $1.9 billion complaint for the settlement, and a
$650 million proviso for a lawsuit from Discover Financial
Services, the fourth-largest network, the company said today.

Consumer purchasing with credit, debit entry and complaint card game will
reach 56 percentage of all U.S. minutes by 2010 from 40
percent in 2005, according to the Nilson Report of Oxnard,
California.

Visa will name Class A shares on the New House Of York Stock
Exchange under the symbol ''V,'' according to the filing.

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