Visa Inc. has broken with its customary practice or not speaking directly on the issue of card interchange to comment explicitly on the amendment to regulate card interchange sponsored by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.).

The industry's massive lobbying effort this week to oppose Sen. Durbin's interchange amendment triggered an estimated 35,000 letters and e-mail messages to U.S. senators but that was apparently dwarfed by retailers' counter campaign.

NAFCU vowed it would continue to oppose an amendment to the regulatory overhaul bill that would regulate card interchange. The measure was sponsored and championed by Illinois Democratic Senator Richard Durbin.

U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a co-sponsor of H.R. 3880 legislation to raise the member business lending cap, recently reiterated his support for the increase to the Credit Union Association of New Mexico.