American Express may pay extra $500 million in lawsuits

Additional $500 million losses are expected by American Express who says that its expenses on lawsuits and governmental examinations may exceed the sum assigned for these matters.

A largest US credit card lender and processing network estimates that a range of possible loss of "zero to $500 million in excess of the accrued liability (if any) related to those matters," according to its annual report filed with regulators on Monday.

Since October, American Express has been battling a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit over its rules for merchants that take its cards. The company is also defending itself against several merchants' lawsuits, including some related to those rules.

A hearing has been scheduled for March 2 to "to discuss scheduling and coordination" of the Justice Department and merchants' lawsuits, American Express said in the Monday filing.