In what looks at first blush like a victory for Visa U.S.A., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has given up its two MasterCard board seats, the companies confirmed late Thursday.
JPMorgan Chase said the resignations simply reflected the fact that the bank's portfolio is more heavily tilted to Visa cards now that it was before JPMorgan Chase acquired Bank One Corp. Bank One was predominantly a Visa issuer, and JPMorgan Chase was predominantly MasterCard; the acquisition closed this month.
Richard J. Srednicki, the executive vice president in charge of Chase Card Services (both before and after the deal), was named the chairman of MasterCard International's North American board of directors in February - a move that was seen largely as a gesture to win the combined card business of Bank One and Chase.
His resignation from that board was given Thursday, as was that of Donald Layton, a JPMorgan Chase vice chairman, who sat on MasterCard's global board of directors. Mr. Layton plans to retire from the bank this month.
MasterCard said, "Mr. Srednicki has informed MasterCard that the decision to step down simply reflects where the majority of the combined JMPC and Bank One credit card relationships will reside when the merger is completed. Mr. Srednicki noted that this step is necessary to accommodate the by-laws of the card associations and that it should not be construed as indicative of future business direction or relationships."
In an e-mail, JPMorgan Chase spokesman David Chamberlin wrote, "The action was a necessary step given the governance rules of the card associations and the merger and combination of Bank One's and Chase's credit card businesses. This action should not be interpreted as a decision regarding our future business relationships with MasterCard or any other payment system provider."
Bank One holds at least two seats on Visa U.S.A.'s board: William Campbell, the head of Bank One's card unit (who is also the vice chairman of Visa's board), and Charles Scharf, the head of JPMorgan Chase's retail business.
