Private antitrust litigation pitting some five million retailers against Visa, MasterCard and 13 large banks has slipped under the radar of many analysts and investors who follow the companies, but the case may deliver a multi-billion dollar shock to bank bulls in the coming months.
The plaintiffs include Payless ShoeSource, the National Association of Convenience Stores and the National Restaurant Association, among many others. They argue that the banks, Visa and MasterCard illegally colluded to charge fees for credit card transactions that are far higher than an open, competitive market would dictate they should be.
Some of the defendant banks include Bank of America, Citigroup, Capital One Financial, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo, PNC Financial, Fifth Third Bancorp, SunTrust Banks, HSBC and Barclays Plc, according to The Street.
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