Visa Announces Global Restructuring

San Francisco (ots/PRNewswire) -

Visa announced today that it intends to restructure its
organization in order to create a new public global corporation
called Visa Inc. As a part of this restructuring, Visa Europe will
remain a membership association, owned and governed by its European
member banks, and become a licensee of Visa Inc. Visa expects the
proposed restructuring will best position the company to meet the
evolving needs of its customers and will accelerate its growth by
improving organizational efficiency, addressing certain legal claims
that exist in some markets, and increasing access to capital.

"This is a great time in Visa's history to make this transition --
we continue to be a leader in the payments industry, our growth and
emerging market strategies are succeeding, and the growth potential
in the global payments industry is tremendous," said William I.
Campbell, chairman of the Visa International Board of Directors. "We
expect that the new structure will accelerate Visa's growth and
position us to better serve our financial institutions and
merchants."

Under the proposed restructuring, Visa Inc. will be created
through a series of mergers involving Visa Canada, Visa USA and Visa
International, which includes the operating regions of Asia Pacific;
Latin America and the Caribbean; and Central and Eastern Europe,
Middle East and Africa. The reorganization will result in a new stock
corporation owned by Visa members. After the mergers are complete,
the global corporation intends to begin the IPO process and list its
shares on a major stock exchange. It is expected that a majority of
the shares in the reorganized company will be sold to the public.

The boards of directors of Visa's six regions and Visa
International unanimously approved the recommendation for the
restructuring. The restructuring is subject to approval by Visa
members and regulatory authorities.

Within the new model, Visa Europe will retain its member-owned
association structure, with continued ownership by its 4,500 European
member banks, and will operate as a licensee of Visa Inc. This
structure will enable Visa Europe to focus on the significant
opportunities arising from the formation of an internal market for
payments in Europe through the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). Visa
Europe will be a minority stockholder in the global company, and Visa
Inc. will have a minority investment interest in Visa Europe.

"Visa recognises that the unique features of the European market
require a tailored approach," said Jan Liden, chairman of the Visa
Europe Board of Directors. "This is a European solution for Europe.
It will benefit all of our stakeholders -- our member banks and their
customers -- retailers and consumers. And it supports the European
Commission's stated goal of creating European-wide payments systems."

Visa's new structure is expected to strengthen global coordination
and accelerate product development and innovation, while preserving
the advantages of Visa's strong local market expertise and execution.
As a result, Visa anticipates that it will improve its ability to
service global customers while continuing to meet the needs of local
markets. Visa intends to continue to ensure the highest levels of
interoperability, reliability and security throughout the global
enterprise.

"Visa's approach provides it with the best of both worlds,
combining the efficiencies of global scale with the recognition of
Europe's unique business and economic environment," said Campbell.
"The new structure differentiates us from other global brands and
increases our ability to compete more effectively using Visa's key
global assets -- brand and network."

As part of the restructuring, the board of Visa Inc. will be
comprised of a majority of independent directors. A search for
independent directors and a chief executive officer for Visa Inc. is
underway.

About Visa: Visa connects cardholders, merchants and financial
institutions through the world's largest electronic payments network.
Visa products allow buyers and sellers to conduct commerce with ease
and confidence in both the physical and virtual worlds. Visa is
committed to the sustained growth of electronic payment systems to
support the needs of all stakeholders and to drive economic growth.

Visa products currently generate more than US$4 trillion in sales
volume worldwide. Visa has unsurpassed acceptance at more than 24
million locations worldwide including one million ATMs. For more
information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

This information is based upon unanimous, non-binding agreement by
the Visa International board and Visa regional boards. It is all
subject to Definitive Agreements being acceptable to all parties, all
necessary corporate and member approval, and completion of all
necessary due diligence. This material is not intended, and should
not be construed, as an offer to sell, or as a solicitation of an
offer to purchase, any securities.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These
statements may be identified by the use of words such as "will,"
"believes," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," "expects,"
"projects," "plans" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking
statements include, without limitation, statements about the proposed
restructuring and related transactions, strategy, future operations,
prospects, plans and objectives of management and events or
developments that we expect or anticipate will occur. The
forward-looking statements reflect Visa's current views and
assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may
cause actual and future results and trends to differ materially from
the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to ability
to obtain approval by Visa's members for the proposed restructuring
and related transactions; successful completion of the restructuring
and related transactions; the outcome of legal proceedings;
uncertainties inherent in operating internationally; and the impact
of law and regulations. Many of these factors are beyond Visa's
ability to control or predict. Given these factors, you should not
place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

Sandra Chu, Visa International, Tel: +1-650-432-2154 at
globalmedia@visa.com

Fiona Wilkinson, Visa Europe, Tel: +44-(0)-20-7795-5331 at
europeanmedia@visa.com

Web site: http://www.corporate.visa.com

ots Originaltext: Visa
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Sandra Chu of Visa International, +1-650-432-2154,
globalmedia@visa.com; or Fiona Wilkinson of Visa Europe,
+44-0-20-7795-5331, europeanmedia@visa.com