Visa, Mastercard Up On News Fed Will Miss Deadline (V, MA)

Shares of Visa V and Mastercard MA are up in pre-market trading on news that the Federal Reserve will miss a April 21 deadline on the Durbin amendment, writes Reuters. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wrote a letter yesterday to lawmakers that the Fed would not meet the deadline, as it needs more time to analyze the letters the Fed has received with regards to the process. Bernanke said that the Fed would have a recommendation in place by July 21, when the limit is supposed to go into effect. Analysts are seeing the delay as a win for banks and card companies. "It's a win for the banks and the various entities that were trying to introduce changes in the law," said Tom Layman, a former chief economist for Visa who now runs the payments consulting firm Global Vision Group to Reuters. "Congress should immediately delay the effective date of the Durbin amendment and initiate a study to fully examine the consequences on consumers and the marketplace," Richard Hunt, president of the Consumer Bankers Association, said in a statement. Shares of both companies are up around 1% in pre-market trading on this news.