It's human nature to think that things will remain as they have always been. But sometimes they don't. Consider MasterCard and Visa. They have always been run by and for banks. But that will change once MasterCard follows through on its plan to become a public company early next year. MasterCard then will be run by and for its shareholders. Visa might well follow suit. As a publicly traded company MasterCard's major investors and board members could include a mega-retailer like Wal-Mart, a software behemoth like Microsoft or a dominant mobile phone operator like Vodafone. Their perspectives naturally would not be bank-centric.
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