Financial Shares Hit By Visa Suit — Financials Roundup

Financial company shares fell after the Justice Department sued Visa for antitrust violations, alleging the company used illegal tactics to maintain a monopoly in debit-card payments.

The lawsuit says Visa used carrots and sticks to keep potential competitors off its turf and to punish merchants that did business with rivals. Visa, which operates the largest card network in the U.S., sits at the center of many consumers' daily payments by providing the infrastructure that debit- and credit-card payments run on. The case comes as consumers move further away from cash in favor of card payments.

Commerzbank said Chief Executive Manfred Knof is stepping down and will be replaced by CFO Bettina Orlopp as it goes through a battle with UniCredit over the future of the bank. The German bank said that early this month Knof informed Jens Weidmann, chairman of the supervisory board, of his decision not to seek a second term as CEO. He's served as Commerzbank's CEO since 2021.

Write to Patrick Sullivan at patrick.sullivan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 24, 2024 17:51 ET (21:51 GMT)

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