Press Release

David A. Schoenholz promoted to president and chief operating officer Gary D. Gilmer to retire at year-end.

Prospect Heights, IL -- July 29, 2002 - Household International (NYSE: HI), the $120 billion (managed assets) consumer lender, today announced an expansion of its senior leadership team that will position the company for continued growth in the financial services marketplace.

David A. Schoenholz has been named to the new position of president and chief operating officer, reporting directly to William F. Aldinger, Household's chairman and chief executive officer. In the new position, Schoenholz will continue to manage the company's mortgage services, United Kingdom and direct lending businesses and adds responsibility for the company's U.S. consumer lending business. He will also continue to oversee the company's finance, treasury and credit risk management activities. Schoenholz previously served as vice chairman and chief financial officer.

Over the course of his 17 years at Household, Schoenholz has helped drive the company's strong financial results, including its current 16 consecutive quarters of record earnings growth. Household recently reported strong receivables growth in the second quarter, fueled by ongoing demand for loan products. Despite the uncertain economic environment, the company has experienced strong operating performance in the first half of 2002.

"With Dave as a key member of my senior management team, Household has consistently delivered world-class results and increased shareholder value," said Aldinger. "He has provided important and consistent leadership to our finance and control functions, and most recently, has been a highly-effective manager of our Mortgage Services and U.K. businesses. Dave has distinguished himself in his many years of service to our company, and I am confident that he will continue Household's strong performance in his new role as president and COO."

Reporting to Dave Schoenholz, Steven L. McDonald has been named senior vice president and chief accounting officer. Prior, McDonald served as Household's managing director-corporate controller. Also reporting to Schoenholz is Edgar Ancona, who has been named senior vice president and treasurer. Ancona had formerly served as managing director - treasurer.

Business Unit Leadership Changes
Household vice chairman Gary D. Gilmer has elected to retire as of December 2002, after 30 years of distinguished service to the company. He will continue in his role as vice chairman through December to provide strategic counsel to Mr. Aldinger. Under Gilmer's direction, Household's U.S. Consumer Lending unit turned in a record year in 2001 and is on track for another record year in 2002.

Thomas M. Detelich has been named group executive for consumer lending, reporting directly to Schoenholz. Detelich joined Household in 1997 when the company acquired Transamerica Financial Services, and served most recently as the senior operations executive for the HFC/Beneficial 1400-branch sales network in the U.S. His career in consumer finance extends over 25 years, and since joining Household, Detelich has held a number of management positions in the consumer lending unit, leading to this most recent promotion.

Rocco J. Fabiano, group executive, will also leave the company at year-end, in order to devote more time to his family and personal interests. He will continue to advise Household through the end of 2002, focusing his efforts on the Auto Finance business. Fabiano, a co-founder of ACC Consumer Finance, joined Household in 1997 when Household acquired that company.

Siddharth N. "Bobby" Mehta, group executive, credit card services and Canada will now add management of the auto finance business to his current responsibilities, reporting to Aldinger. Mehta will work closely with Fabiano to ensure a seamless transition for the auto finance business. Mehta has been with Household since 1998, when he joined the company from Boston Consulting Group to help restructure the credit card business. His efforts have dramatically improved profitability and enhanced customer care in that business. He received additional responsibility for the Canadian unit in 2001.

Sandra Derickson has been named group executive and will add management of the refund lending and insurance services business units to her current responsibilities for retail services. She now will report directly to Aldinger. Previously, Derickson was managing director, CEO, for the retail services business, which is the nation's second-largest private label credit card provider. This business unit has consistently outperformed the industry growth rate, with 18 percent year-over-year receivable growth and the signing of new partners such as Saks, Saturn, GM Goodwrench, Compaq and Toshiba, among others.

"Gary Gilmer and Rocco Fabiano are exceptionally talented executives and have been instrumental in achieving Household's financial and operational success," Aldinger said.

"Through his 30-year career at Household, Gary has made innumerable contributions to the character and success of this company and to our more than 34,000 employees. He has been one of the company's most versatile and effective leaders and leaves behind a management team that shares his vision and commitment. Likewise, Rocco has been a tremendous leader and a critical part of our team. As a co-founder of ACC Consumer Finance, Rocco has brought tremendous entrepreneurial spirit to Household and to the leadership team that he has developed in the businesses he managed for us. We wish both Gary and Rocco the very best as they enter the next phase of their lives."

Expanded Roles in Compliance and Technology
In a move to significantly strengthen the company's compliance programs, James B. Kauffman has been named to the new position of vice president-policy and compliance, with responsibility for compliance across the Household organization, reporting directly to Aldinger. Previously, his role focused on operational compliance at Household's HFC and Beneficial consumer lending subsidiaries and reported to Gary Gilmer. Before joining Household earlier this year, Kauffman served as Secretary of Banking of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a gubernatorial cabinet appointment.

Ken Harvey has been named to the new position of group executive and chief information officer, reporting to Aldinger. Previously, Harvey was executive vice president and chief information officer, leading Household in advanced technologies, cost-effective technology implementation and software engineering. He is also responsible for payment processing operations, purchasing and the accounts payable functions at the company.

Commenting on the range of appointments announced today, Aldinger said: "This energetic and experienced leadership team is the culmination of many years of strategic succession planning for Household," Aldinger said. "Our policy has always been to develop our most talented executives and groom them for senior management positions. I am confident that this outstanding team delivers the right mix of strategic vision, leadership and enthusiasm to position Household for continued growth and success well into the future."

About Household
Household's businesses are leading providers of consumer loan, credit card, 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 widely 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 Best Buy Card and the GM Card® and the AFL-CIO's Union Plus® card. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.household.com.