CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-Visa's $10 bln IPO adds luster to '08 market

(Corrects date to Dec 23) (Repeats item first filed Friday evening) (Recasts to move Visa's reported 2007 loss higher in story)

By Lilla Zuill

NEW YORK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Analysts predict that next year's U.S. initial public offerings will include a steady stream of activity, including credit card issuer Visa Inc's $10 billion IPO.

Visa, the biggest deal so far in 2008, is coming to market after MasterCard Inc's (MA.N) stellar $2.4 billion 2006 IPO.

The company said late on Friday its plans to list the shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "V" (V.N), according to an amended registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It has not disclosed how many shares it will offer, or the expected price.

"It will certainly do well, as MasterCard has done incredibly," said Scott Sweet, managing director of research firm IPOboutique.com, who expects the Visa offering early in the year.

Hopes are high that the world's largest credit-card processor will take the lead of its smaller rival MasterCard Inc, which has seen its share gain more than 440 percent since its initial IPO price of $39. MasterCard shares closed at $212.35 on Friday.

Things have been a bit bumpy lately for Visa, as reflected in its Friday disclosure that the company posted a loss in fiscal 2007. The company had a $1.1 billion operating loss, while operating revenue rose 33 percent to $5.2 billion. The loss included nearly $3 billion in reserve for outstanding litigation.

The company also disclosed it set aside $1.9 billion related to American Express litigation and a $650 million reserve related to Discover litigation.

A Visa spokesman could not be reached for comment on when the company will launch its offering, but it earlier said it was obligated to make "reasonable efforts" to complete the offering within 120 days of a restructuring that closed on Oct. 3.

At that rate, Visa would launch its offering by February. The IPO must be launched by early May if Visa wants to avoid having certain obligations of its financial services members suspended, according to the filing.

Under the restructuring, Visa Inc combines Visa U.S., international and Canadian operations. Another affiliate, Visa Europe, will remain a membership organization and take a minority stake in Visa Inc.

The company processed 44 billion transactions last year worth more than $3 trillion.

CREDIT CRUNCH

While credit markets have tightened since MasterCard's debut about 18 months ago -- raising concerns credit card defaults could rise and consumer spending shrink -- analysts say the industry is still posting strong growth.

"The credit-card market is growing 12 to 14 percent (a year)," said Francis Gaskins, president of research firm IPOdesktop.com, who forecasts Visa will grab headlines, but fall short MasterCard's performance.