Household HSBC Watch

Standard Chartered bank delivered a sparkling first six months, raising profits before tax by 32 percent. Increasing costs were all but totally offset by an increase in income, driven mostly by Standard Chartered’s wholesale-banking business. It is a far cry from the 29 percent tumble in earnings reported Monday by rival HSBC. HSBC policy […]

Here at Household - HSBC Watch we receive complaints every day. Some involve pre-payment penalties on home loans that trap the buyer, preventing refinancing or otherwise putting the buyer upside down in the home. That may soon change according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

“Although the high rate of delinquency has a number […]

AK in Oregon sent this op-ed piece. We are publishing it here instead of in our complaints blog:
“HSBC- predatory lenders who slam insurance, offer over market rates and fees, and treat employees with disrespect.

When I started working at HFC I was just out of college. I was excited to have a job […]

H&R Block Inc on Wednesday said its Block Financial LLC unit obtained a $3 billion credit line from HSBC Finance Corp, which will be used to fund loans for some taxpayers who expect refunds. Just last week we reported that the IRS says such loans can perpetuate fraud. For two companies that […]

On one hand HSBC spokesman Michael Trevino said tax refund loans “represents a very small portion’’ of HSBC’s revenue. On the other hand such loans represent bad publicity for HSBC, with interest rates sometimes over 100 percent. Lawsuits such as Carnegie vs Household, paid by HSBC in 2007, cast HSBC in a bad […]

It was inevitable and we talked about it since 2002. HSBC bought predatory lender Household International in late 2002 and finalized the purchase in early 2003. Name liability and associating HSBC’s name and reputation with shady lender Household International was not wise. Ignoring the obvious, HSBC started to become associated with income […]

In a blow to HSBC Finance Corporation and other large sub-prime mortgage lenders the federal government in the United States is considering regulations many thought should have been in place for many years. A “day late and a dollar short” according to consumer advocates, it is not the regulation, but action against shady lenders […]

Combined third-quarter profits for HSBC USA and HSBC Finance Corp. fell 15.5 percent, as a tight profit margin, lower banking fees, higher operating expenses and higher loan losses offset growth in the company’s bank branch network, commercial lending, retail mortgage and credit card divisions.
The two U.S. units of HSBC Holdings Plc reported total profit before […]

Most sued and former executive of HSBC and CEO of predatory lender Household International William F. Aldinger III once boasted that his company ‘invented tax refund loans’ - and they are proud of it. Household, and later HSBC, partnered with H&R Block. H&R Block CEO Mark Ernst appeared eager to turn the […]

North Carolina State Treasurer Richard Moore appeared on the CNBC show “Squawk Box” on Thursday morning. Moore used his television appearance to send a message to H&R Block about its high-interest, short-term loans, his office said. Moore is working with the Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina to end the loans H&R Block offers […]