Visa: Sell Class C Shares Sooner Than Later

UPDATE 1-Visa accelerates liquidation of Class C shares

•  Non-U.S. banks can sell up to 30 pct of class C shares
•  Liquidation could help banks raise money
•  Visa shares fall 2.2 percent

Visa Inc said it had accelerated the timetable for non-U.S. financial institutions to sell their shares of the world's largest payments network, in a move that could help battered banks to raise money.

Non-U.S. banks holding shares known as "Class C" can sell up to 30 percent of them any time after July 1. The prior rules allowed banks to sell their shares beginning March 25, 2011.

Visa said the release of Class C shares would not have a dilutive effect. The credit card and debit network said the Class C shares would automatically be converted into Class A shares, tradable in the public market.

Created in October 2007 from the merger of Visa U.S., international and Canadian operations, Visa Inc went public last year in the largest initial stock offering from a U.S. company.  San Francisco-based Visa said the remaining Class C shares would continue to be subject to transfer restrictions that expire in 2011.  To participate in the program, the foreign financial institutions will need to apply to Visa's transfer agent between July 1 and Sept. 30.

Visa's shares fell 2.5 percent to $58.86 in morning New York Stock Exchange trade. The stock is up 13 percent in 2009.