...NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) July 31, 2018--S&P Global Ratings said today that the recent progress in the efforts of Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. to settle a major legal case with merchants in the U.S. has no immediate impact on our ratings on those companies but represents an important step toward resolving a major portion of that long-running litigation. Our positive outlooks on both of these card network companies continue to reflect their ongoing strong financial performance, as well as the progress they are making in resolving legal and regulatory challenges. Both companies said they have reached an agreement in principle with the "damages class" plaintiffs--those seeking a monetary settlement--in a case dating to 2005 in which merchants have alleged that the card networks and their financial institution clients conspired to set interchange fees and enact certain rules. As a result of this development, Visa deposited an additional $600 million in a litigation escrow account, increasing...
