Press Release

Former Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of Banking Joins Household's Consumer Lending Division, Extending Household's Ongoing Compliance Efforts

Prospect Heights, IL - September 25, 2002 - Household International (NYSE: HI) announced today the appointment of Frances A. Bedekovic, former Acting Secretary of Banking of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as vice president, policy and compliance for the company's consumer lending division. In this position, Bedekovic will oversee operational compliance at Household's HFC and Beneficial consumer lending subsidiaries. She will report to James B. Kauffman, Household International's senior vice president, policy and compliance.

Over recent months, Household has put into place a number of initiatives to bolster its responsible lending efforts and compliance functions. Bedekovic's role will include managing the regulatory compliance efforts, overseeing the proper implementation of the company's responsible lending "best practices" policies and facilitating its regulatory relationships.

Bedekovic most recently oversaw the regulation, examination and supervision of all state-chartered depository institutions and non-depository financial institutions that are licensed to do business in Pennsylvania. As acting secretary of banking, Bedekovic served as chairperson of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania housing finance agency and sat on several other state economic development boards, including the Pennsylvania industrial development authority. Prior to her position with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, she served as managing director of the Crossroads Consulting Group, a banking industry consulting firm, director of credit policy and director of special assets for Keystone Financial, Inc., and as the credit risk review officer at First Union National Bank, formerly CoreStates Bank, N.A.

"Throughout the year, we have made important steps to fortify our compliance functions, such as increasing our infrastructure, doubling the size of the centralized compliance and field audit team, and reengineering our exam reviews," said Kauffman. "The addition of Frances is an important next step in our endeavors. Her impeccable credentials and experience will be an added resource to Household as we continue to focus on operational excellence."

Earlier this year, the company announced the promotion of Kauffman to senior vice president, policy and compliance. In this position, Kauffman heads the operational compliance for all of Household's businesses and reports directly to William F. Aldinger, chairman and CEO.

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 GM Card® and the AFL-CIO's Union Plus® card. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.household.com.