Household HSBC Watch

In the US Banker section of American Banker, we spotted an interesting line: “The concern was, ‘How much subprime do you do? What is your risk of having what Household (International) had?’” It was a question asked of Richard Davis, CEO of U.S. Bancorp, in February 2007. HSBC bought Household in […]

What is the relationship between HSBC and their regulator, The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency? Keep in mind that HSBC spends millions on lobbying and has hired former OCC executives in the past. Here is an example of that relationship.

This is part of a public records document written September 29, 2006 […]

NAACP members are raising awareness about lending discrimination at 17 lending institutions. HSBC released the following statement regarding the NAACP to Eyewitness News: “HSBC Finance Corporation does not comment on litigation. However, at HSBC Finance Corporation, we take our fair lending and consumer protection practices very seriously, and we are confident that we […]

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 […]

After you take the self-serving fluff out the press release, there is some news as HSBC and Loyalty Lab form an alliance. Loyalty Lab formed an alliance with HSBC Finance Corporation’s card and retail services business to extend advanced loyalty and customer retention marketing (CRM) capabilities to retailers that offer private label and co-branded […]

HSBC and activist investor organizaiton Knight-Vinke have been challenging each other for quite some time. This past weekend Knight-Vinke said “‘The dismissive comments in your letter conveyed a worrying degree of complacency. I hope this is just a matter of tone and not of substance.” The same United States division of HSBC […]

Worldwide operations of HSBC saved the bank from disaster. The disaster was HSBC Finance Corporation, formerly known as Household International. Granted we are not the first to report on this matter, but we wanted to sort through the data and updates first. For years we reported consumer complaints and noted trends throughout […]

HSBC customers of HFC and Beneficial Finance often seek answers and help that is beyond the capabilties of a local branch. Back in 1994 - well before HSBC bought troubled predatory lender Household International - HFC and Beneficial would refer customers to corporate. Phone numbers were disconnected, or the caller was referred […]

Many lenders went out of business or declared bankruptcy, but major losses and write-downs from subprime continue. Lawsuits are beginning, as Ohio’s Attorney General tries to show that Freddie Mac duped investors by not revealing how risky the subprime market was. The risk to other lenders is high if a precedent is set. […]

HSBC’s purchase of Household International was called a disaster. Other quotes included “total collapse of lending standards” at Household International. HSBC’s belief that its own lower funding costs would enable it to make a lot more money out of the Household International loans. Not realizing the acquisition would become a […]