PURCHASE, N.Y., June 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) today announced it has appointed Ajay Banga President and Chief Operating Officer, reporting to Robert W. Selander, currently President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Selander will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer after Mr. Banga joins MasterCard on August 31, 2009.

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Mr. Banga is currently Citigroup's Chief Executive Officer of Citi Asia Pacific, responsible for all of Citi's business lines in the region including credit cards and consumer banking, institutional banking, wealth management and alternative investments. He is also a member of the company's Senior Leadership and Executive Committees.

At MasterCard, Banga, 49, will be responsible for key business operations including customer relationships globally in international and U.S. markets, products, services, marketing, technology and operations. The company's finance, human resources, and law and franchise integrity functions will continue to report to Selander.

'I am very pleased to have Ajay join our senior executive team and partner with me to grow MasterCard's value to our customers, merchants, consumers and investors,' said Selander. 'Ajay's experience in diverse industries and diverse geographies will reinforce and strengthen our global competencies as electronic payments continue to accelerate worldwide. With his expertise and leadership,' Selander said, 'we hope to capture even more of the significant global payments opportunity.'

'This is clearly a wonderful opportunity to join a company at the forefront of advancing global commerce,' said Banga. 'From its strong technology base to its local market expertise, MasterCard has many important resources in place to make life easier for consumers and payment systems more efficient for businesses and governments around the world.