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William F. (Bill) Aldinger takes a pounding at HSBC Watch

WK in Illinois said: “I have followed the entries on your website for several years and I can understand why HSBC customers and employees feel the way they do. I was employed at HSBC for 10 years in the HFC and Retail Services divisions of Household International which later became HSBC Finance. […]

Household HSBC Watch 10 Year anniversary

It has been ten years since consumer advocates started Household - HSBC Watch. Sometimes we wonder where the years went. Ten years ago we started a single web page on a free server. Now we have over 3000 visitors every day. Part of the traffic obviously is a result of the […]

Impact of predatory lending left unchecked

In a lesson plan, designed to teach about predatory and subprime lending, we asked this question of students in 2005: “What is the impact on a country’s economy if predatory lending is left unchecked?” Three years later the answer is clearly obvious. As of today the world has seen over $515 billion […]

Subprime credit card users can increase credit score

A study conducted by Citizens for Equal Access to Credit found that a large percentage of subprime credit card users improved their credit rating within a two-year period. Based on a study of 360,000 card users, at least 35 percent of consumers with low-limit credit cards improved their credit scores in two years. […]

HSBC Sunday computer crash creates a mess

HSBC Bank USA is still scrambling to recover after its core banking computer system mysteriously crashed Sunday, preventing it from recording withdrawals and deposits, and wreaking havoc on consumers and businesses nationwide. Computer crashes and angry merchants are nothing new for HSBC. I’m sure there is a battle plan in place to put […]

A look at HSBC credit card CDO’s

HSBC is heavily exposed to credit card assets. In that light, it is similar to Capital One, which earlier this year slashed its earnings estimates by over 20 percent due to high default rates and building losses. We see potential for a negative impact to HSBC’s earnings from this exposure as well. HSBC credit […]

London mortgage fraud

It seems the FSA is busy in London. What theme seems to run through this article? It suggests there is a big difference between Islamic Finance in the Middle East and people named Mohammed running fraud schemes in London. In March, the FSA banned Andrew Talai Kiplimo, a mortgage introducer (a person […]

HSBC spent $660,000 for 3 months of lobbying

Once upon a time — back before the crying, wailing, and sobs of subprime lending — HSBC plc said the bank did not spend money on lobbying and attempts to influence legislation. Certainly William F. Aldinger spent money to do so in the United States, as his predaotry little company (Household International) was purchased […]

EcoSmart HSBC MasterCard or echo stupid to get one?

HSBC Finance Corporation’s card and retail services business has introduced a credit card that gives consumers the opportunity to use earned rewards to make a contribution to a variety of environmental causes. It does not take long to realize that 70 percent consumer dissatisfaction with HSBC credit cards (see our poll) indicates an overall […]

Crackdown on HSBC credit cards

When news rules are needed or suggested, cause and effect implies abuses prompted the action. At HSBC Finance things could not get much worse for HSBC, and always seem to get worse for customers. That may change as new credit card rules have been proposed. Under the plan, banks could increase […]