Press Release

HSBC Bank USA Enter into Regulatory Agreement

30 April 2003

New York – HSBC Bank USA today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the New York State Banking Department to enhance its compliance with anti-money laundering requirements. The Bank has agreed to a number of improvements to its compliance, reporting, and review systems and procedures.

Youssef A Nasr, president and CEO said, "HSBC has a long history of cooperation with regulators in the more than 80 countries and territories in the world in which we operate. We are working with the Federal Reserve and the New York State Banking Department to ensure that we meet or exceed all requirements. We are taking a number of steps to upgrade our systems and procedures in furtherance of our common goal of assuring that we have in place state-of-the-art policies, diligence practices and internal controls. This is our highest priority."