In business, when it comes to dirtying the brand, usually the effect is seen when competition has a better product, lawsuits cast doubt on the brand, or other factors far beyond the corporate boardroom. When it comes to HSBC credit cards, it is HSBC that is dirtying the brand. Does London know what is going on in the United States?
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Category: General News, Tom Detelich
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HSBC came under pressure to let Household, its American sub-prime bank, go bankrupt yesterday, in order to avoid an expensive rights issue or government bailout. The proposal was dismissed by HSBC. Knight Vinke, the activist investor, told The Times last night that HSBC should refuse to pay the bondholders that fund Household’s business, which it estimated would save the bank an estimated $35 billion. (£23.6 billion). Here is the complete article.
Category: Tom Detelich
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I am publishing this report in this section because it clarifies a good point. RW in Massachusetts says: “Maybe others already know this, but if you pay the $15 to “expedite” a payment that is considered a “purchase” by HSBC, which entitles them to charge interest on the $15, even though my balance of $1,600 on a balance transfer was at Zero percent. What is the result? Each month, because they take my average $200 payment against the $1,600 balance, the $15 “expedite” fee gets banged 76 percent interest of “minimum $1“. “That’s right, I pay $1 a month until I pay off the transfer balance before they knock off the $15 fee.
Category: Tom Detelich
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This morning news from Hong Kong, the original home of HSBC (Hong Kong Shanghai Bank) tells us something we already knew back when William F. Aldinger III sold predatory lender Household International to HSBC. One JPMorgan analyst, Sunil Garg, said HSBC Finance Corp, the bank’s consumer-lending subsidiary in the United States, is an “unviable business” in the current environment. Lending spreads are inadequate to run a business like HSBC Finance that is beset with excessive risk, he said.
Category: General News, Subprime, Tom Detelich
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HSBC is donating (if that is the right word) money to help with foreclosure prevention. We view this announcement with reservation, since foreclosures and lack of response by HSBC are still reported by homeowners. However, Money Management International (MMI), a nonprofit credit and debt counseling and education agency, today announced the official launch of their foreclosure prevention program that started in July 2007. With receipt of its second $1 million grant from HSBC-North America, MMI is able to expand its Preserving Homeownership and Savings Education Strategy (PHASES) program.
Category: Tom Detelich
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