Visa 2015 Annual Report Download - page 66

U.S. Covered litigation. We are parties to legal and regulatory proceedings with respect to a
variety of matters, including certain litigation that we refer to as the U.S. covered litigation. As noted
above, monetary liabilities from settlements of, or judgments in, the U.S. covered litigation are payable
from the litigation escrow account. During fiscal 2015, we made $426 million in covered litigation
payments that were funded from the litigation escrow account, reflecting settlements with the individual
opt-out merchants in the interchange multidistrict litigation proceedings. At September 30, 2015, the
litigation escrow account had an available balance of $1.1 billion. See Note 3—U.S. Retrospective
Responsibility Plan and Potential Visa Europe Liabilities and Note 20—Legal Matters to our
consolidated financial statements.
Other litigation. Judgments in and settlements of litigation, other than the U.S. covered litigation,
could give rise to future liquidity needs.
Reduction in as-converted class A common stock. During fiscal 2015, we repurchased 44 million
shares of our class A common stock in the open market using $2.9 billion of cash on hand. As of
September 30, 2015, we had remaining authorized funds of $2.8 billion. All share repurchase programs
authorized prior to October 2014 have been completed. In October 2015, our board of directors
authorized an additional $5.0 billion share repurchase program. See Note 14—Stockholders’ Equity to
our consolidated financial statements.
Dividends. During fiscal 2015, we paid $1.2 billion in dividends. In October 2015, our board of
directors declared a quarterly dividend in the aggregate amount of $0.14 per share of class A common
stock (determined in the case of class B and class C common stock on an as-converted basis). We
expect to pay approximately $341 million in connection with this dividend on December 1, 2015. See
Note 14—Stockholders’ Equity to our consolidated financial statements. We expect to continue paying
quarterly dividends in cash, subject to approval by the board of directors. Holders of class B and C
common stock will share ratably on an as-converted basis in such future dividends.
Pension and other postretirement benefits. We sponsor various qualified and non-qualified defined
benefit pension plans that generally provide benefits based on years of service, age and eligible
compensation. We also sponsor a postretirement benefit plan that provides postretirement medical
benefits for retirees and dependents upon meeting minimum age and service requirements. Our policy
with respect to our qualified pension plan is to contribute annually not less than the minimum required
under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Our non-qualified pension and other
postretirement benefit plans are funded on a current basis. We typically fund our qualified pension plan
in September of each year. In fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013, we made contributions to our pension and
other postretirement plans of $19 million, $14 million, and $4 million, respectively. In fiscal 2016, given
current projections and assumptions, we anticipate funding our defined benefit pension plans and other
postretirement plan by approximately $12 million. The actual contribution amount will vary depending
upon the funded status of the pension plan, movements in the discount rate, performance of the plan
assets, and related tax consequences. See Note 10—Pension, Postretirement and Other Benefits to
our consolidated financial statements.
Capital expenditures. Our capital expenditures decreased during fiscal 2015 reflecting the
investments to upgrade our processing network during the fourth quarter of 2014. We expect to
continue investing in technology assets and payments system infrastructure to support our digital
solutions and core business initiatives.
Acquisitions. During fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2014, we acquired businesses in which we previously
held a minority interest using $93 million and $134 million of cash on hand, respectively. These
amounts primarily reflect the respective purchase price, less cash received. These acquisitions help to
expand our loyalty solutions for merchants by strengthening our merchant offers capabilities, and
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