ARLINGTON, Va. — Both U.S. card brand leaders, Visa and MasterCard, reported strong growth in their sales during the second quarter, but MasterCard reported a net loss in revenue per share as it absorbed some of the costs of issuing stock.

Visa posted a 9.9% increase in consumer credit over the second quarter of 2005, with credit sales volume growing by 12.1% to $187 billion. Visa's overall debit sales volume increased by 20% over the same quarter last year, with offline signature debit products growing by 14.6% and online debit growing by almost 40%. MasterCard reported growth in gross dollar volume of 16.4% and an increase of 17.7% in the number of transactions processed. "Our solid operational performance for the quarter demonstrates that through our strengths as a franchisor, processor and advisor, we are successfully delivering on our commitment to bring our customers innovative products and value-added services to help them enhance the profitability of their payments businesses," said Robert W. Selander, MasterCard's CEO.