As an ex-employee of Beneficial, I was devasted to hear the news of the closing of HFC/Beneficial. On that note, lets be real for a minute and rewind back to November 14, 2002. Household had a pending $484 million dollar lawsuit and had no ability to pay. Loans dried up, employees had no direction, and we were actually getting paid to collect, rewrite, and restructure delinquent loans in an attempt to clean up our portfolio to make the company as attractive as possible to a suitor.

For all intensive purposes, Household was literally days away from closing its doors. November 14, 2002, was actually the day Household was saved by HSBC. I know this does not help the 6100 employees who lost their jobs on Monday, but on November 14, 2002, HSBC gave Household six years they may not have had.

Related posts:

1. HSBC disagrees with Lawrence E. Jaffe Pension Plan v. Household International, Inc
2. HSBC and Household International lose jury trial in Chicago
3. Thoughts on Household International from Hong Kong
4. AE thanks HFC Beneficial for 7 wonderful years
5. Timeline of Household International and HSBC troubles