Friday, December 23, 2005

Is MasterCard International's Due Diligence Lacking? (WayTooHigh.com)

An open-letter to MasterCard International's president and CEO, Robert W. Selander and to the company's general counsel and secretary, Noah J. Hanft

Dear Messrs. Selander and Hanft,

With just weeks away from seeking the financial confidence and $2.5 billion from public investments, the second largest bank-owned credit card association, MasterCard International, has yet to update its website.

For months, The Credit Card Interchange Report - WayTooHigh.com has been mentioning that the MasterCard.com website continues to post a timeline from only previous merchant litigations.

As the bank-owned credit card association now faces
multiple antitrust actions targeting the core of its revenue stream and because this price-fixing antitrust case is among the largest in our nation's history, why is there such a void?

MasterCard continues to fail in making sure that the case is clearly referenced on its company information litigation page. There is no mention at all.

Viewing the MasterCard International website suggests that the banking industry is mystifyingly protected from complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which oversees corporate governance and reporting practices. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 409 pertains to 'Real Time Issuer Disclosures,' where companies are required to disclose to the public, on an urgent basis, information on material changes in their financial condition or operations. Ordinarily, these disclosures are to be presented in terms that are easy to understand and supported by trend and qualitative information of graphic presentations as appropriate.

So, why is there no clearly presented disclosure information on the MasterCard International website?

Sincerely,

Mitch Goldstone and Carl Berman
co-editors
The Credit Card Interchange Report - WayTooHigh.com

[source: WayTooHigh.com]