Household HSBC Watch

HSBC Bank Canada has taken a small provision for losses in its own portfolio of frozen commercial paper, but chief executive officer Lindsay Gordon says that, like other investors, it’s suffering from a lack of information.

His comments stand out because HSBC is one of the 10 financial institutions that conceived the restructuring plan for the […]

The latest data on home prices show that the downturn in the housing market is getting worse, rather than better, raising questions about consumers’ ability to keep propping up the economy. American consumers have taken a hit not just from falling home prices, but also rising energy prices and a wobbly stock market. A […]

This past summer’s subprime meltdown involved about $900 billion in now-suspect securitized debt, reckless lending, and consumers who buckled under the weight of loans they couldn’t afford. Now another link in the consumer debt chain - credit cards - is starting to show signs of strain. And the fear that the $915 billion in U.S. […]

Global banking giant HSBC said Tuesday that it has sold some of its British credit card businesses to lender SAV Credit for about 385 million pounds (552 million euros, 796 million dollars). HSBC said in a statement that the units being sold are the Marbles and Beneficial divisions, which have about 338,000 accounts between […]

As Knight Vinke looks firmly at HSBC, and as HSBC announced they want to sell their Marbles credit card operation, one must wonder about the logic. As our friends at Mortgage Blues recently pointed out HSBC and others would certainly concentrate on credit card operations. Here is why:

With the subprime mortgage and home […]

This crime reminds me of calculated risk taking by Household International and HSBC Finance. Steal from the customer, reap great benefits, and then pay the fine. The profits far outweigh the punishments. In the business world HSBC admitted no wrongdoing and paid the fine. This guy did some prison time and paid […]

A telecom equipment company has launched the opening legal barrage in the asset-backed commercial paper mess, suing HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc. for selling $8.5-million of short-term investments that are now frozen.

Concord, Ont.-based Aastra Technologies Ltd. is seeking $5-million in damages, according to a statement of claim filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. […]

HSBC Holdings Plc’s Canadian unit became the first financial adviser in the country to be sued over investments in asset-backed commercial paper that were frozen following the U.S. subprime mortgage industry collapse.

Aastra Technologies Ltd., which makes telecommunications equipment, filed the suit today in Ontario Superior Court, alleging HSBC and adviser Nicolas Del Sorbo gave […]

This may also be part of HSBC’s repositioning, or perhaps a move to make Knight Vinke happy. Other analysts thought HSBC would keep their credit card operations while getting rid of predatory and subprime lending. Such lending is often equated with Household International, now called HSBC Finance Corp. An earlier press release […]

HSBC Financial Corp. Ltd. is closing 30 of its 140 small branches in Canada, affecting 300 employees, as it tightens up its lending practices in the continuing credit crunch. Operating separately from HSBC Bank Canada, the loan company is a subsidiary of a similar U.S. operation that has suffered in the U.S. subprime mortgage […]