Blackmail threat of the day:

Credit card industry specialists had surmised that a deal between American Express and Citibank was imminent. In November, American Express filed a lawsuit against Visa, MasterCard and eight major banks seeking monetary damages for the business it said it lost as a result of the defunct rules. Notably absent from the list of banks were MBNA and Citigroup.

Mr. Chenault said that similar deals were still possible with the companies American Express is suing, which include J. P. Morgan Chase, Capital One, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. "The fact that compensation is owed to us for past misconduct should not stop banks from entering into partnerships with us and doing the right thing for their customers and their shareholders," he said.

Play ball with us or we'll sue you. Nice.