[By going public and appointing a new board, with independent directors making up a majority, MasterCard may be trying to be viewed as more independent and to steer some potential litigation costs away from its member banks, said Kenneth Posner, an analyst with Morgan Stanley.] Payment associations have market power because they are owned and controlled by groups of banks, ... The public MasterCard would have independent directors and a governance system that would make it clear that it would not be attempting to collude in setting an interchange fee. Kenneth Posner