FINANCIAL SERVICES

American Express Sues Visa in Latin America: American Express Co. said it sued Visa International Inc. in five Latin American and Caribbean nations, charging that the bank card association is about to bar its member banks in the region from issuing American Express cards. Visa will try to adopt such a restrictive bylaw in an effort to thwart American Express’ effort to get banks to issue its credit cards side by side with Visa and MasterCard, an American Express spokesman said. He cited a magazine interview with Visa Latin American and Caribbean regional President James F. Partridge in which Partridge warned that any bank that issued an American Express card would be “playing with fire” because of the likelihood of a restrictive bylaw. Am Ex said it filed lawsuits in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico aimed at blocking Visa from adopting the bylaw. In Puerto Rico, the company is asking local antitrust authorities to open an investigation into Visa’s practices. Visa didn’t return phone calls seeking comment.