Press Release

Prospect Heights, IL, January 11, 2001 - Household International (NYSE: HI) issued the following statement in response to an announcement by Fitch, Inc. that the agency has lowered by one notch its senior debt credit rating of Household Finance Corporation ("HFC"), a subsidiary, from 'A+' to 'A'. The commercial paper ratings of HFC and HI at 'F1' remain unchanged. According to Fitch, this change reflects an internal view that the rating of HFC should conform to that of the parent, Household International. In its announcement, Fitch confirmed all of its ratings for Household International, including its 'A' rating on senior debt and reaffirmed the 'F1' commercial paper rating for both HI and HFC. Fitch also revised its ratings outlook for senior debt for Household and its subsidiaries to "Negative" from "Stable".
In its statement, Household said: "We understand that Fitch's decision to conform HFC and HI's ratings is a matter of policy. This action is consistent with what Fitch has done with ratings in the banking industry. Additionally, Fitch has made it clear that the rating adjustment is not a result of underlying credit changes at HFC and we are pleased that Fitch has confirmed its rating of Household International.
We are disappointed that Fitch changed its rating outlook on Household due to concerns about our ability to securitize real estate secured and unsecured consumer loans. Household has always placed a great emphasis on liquidity and has long accessed a diverse funding base of unsecured short-term debt, commercial paper, term funding and the asset-backed market to fund its operations. Household has successfully securitized $3.5 billion of unsecured consumer loans which represents 23 percent of its U.S. unsecured portfolio. Since 1999, the company also securitized $2.2 billion of closed-end real estate loans which have been accounted for as financings. In its 2002 financing plan, the company had already planned to securitize a larger amount of the real estate portfolio. To demonstrate its ability to securitize its real estate product, Household will increase the level of 2002 securitization otherwise planned. These transactions will be structured consistent with the current program for real estate secured products, thus the company will record no gain on sale associated with these financings.
Household is committed to working with Fitch to have its rating outlook revised back to "Stable" in the upcoming year."
About Household Household's businesses are leading providers of consumer loan, credit cards, auto finance and credit insurance products in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. In the United States, Household's largest business, founded in 1878, operates under the two oldest and most recognized names in consumer finance - HFC and Beneficial. Household is also one of the nation's largest issuers of private label and general purpose credit cards, including The GM Card® and the AFL-CIO's Union Plus® card. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.household.com.