HSBC National Center for Economic and Financial Education is not new, and informed readers know there is more to this than what was actually disclosed:
The Council for Economic Education and HSBC-North America today announced the opening of the HSBC National Center for Economic and Financial Education, on June 4, 2009. The Center is unprecedented; the only venue of its kind in New York City and the announcement was made by Dr. Robert Duvall, President & CEO of the Council and Matthew Smith, Senior Executive Vice President of Network Strategy for HSBC – North America, also a Council board member.
HSBC National Center for Economic and Financial Education? Unprecedented? Here are the facts:
HSBC’s “Your Credit Counts” at yourcreditcounts.com now resolves to yourmoneycounts.com and was Household International / HSBC Finance, where your credit counted very little based on history and complaint analysis.
HSBC and the University of Maryland formed a joint venture aimed at “helping” members of the U.S. military, while under fire for abusing the U.S. military.
“HSBC has supported the Council for Economic Education for more than 40 years, and is particularly proud of our newest partnership in launching this vital Center,” said Matthew Smith of HSBC. “As a global financial services company committed to education, we share the Council’s vision that sound economic education is key to developing life skills of today’s youth. We look forward to a successful partnership with the Council on this exciting venture.”
Is this HSBC’s attempt to close the door on HSBC Finance, once known as predatory lender Household International? Or is it simply an attempt to attract familiarity and exposure to young people in an effort to establish life long relationships?
Unfortunately HSBC’s efforts to minimize credit card exposure, regardless of one’s credit score, has hurt credit scores of many HSBC card holders including those who formerly had credit scores of 750 and higher.
Complaints continue, and a ten-year trend of applying credit card payments as “late” continues to attract attention. HSBC was one of the top-ten subprime lenders in the United States.
“The new National Center will be the epi-center of economic and financial education in action,” said Robert Duvall. “We are very proud to open our doors to the millions of New Yorkers who recognize, like our partner HSBC-North America, that today more than ever financial and economic education is vital to all people, beginning in K-12 while young and continuing throughout adulthood.”
Simply put, others tried the same relationship, only to be aligned with subprime foreclosures, predatory lending and legal contracts that, while onerous, found the very edge of the law without being illegal.
Maybe this time it will be different. However, if HSBC really wants to reach higher, with panels featuring economic educators, teachers, prominent economists, business leaders, and policy-makers to discuss topics relevant to economic and personal finance education, these intelligent people will ask hard, tough, and intelligent questions about Household International, HSBC Finance, and HSBC’s position.
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