Press Release

All of these appointments will become effective on May 1, 2004, except for McMahon, who will join Household on May 19, 2004.

"These appointments reflect the depth and quality of our management team and will position Household for a new level of performance," said William F. Aldinger, chairman and chief executive officer of HSBC North America Holdings. "Each of these leaders truly embraces the qualities that drive our success, building talented teams and motivating employees to deliver consistently strong results."

Household Vice Chairman Sandy Derickson will be responsible for Household's retail services, insurance services, refund lending and auto finance businesses, as well as HFC Bank UK. She joined Household in September 2000 to lead the company's retail services (store and private label credit cards) business, bringing 24 years of experience from GE Capital Auto Financial Services. Derickson will continue to be based in Prospect Heights.

"Sandy has done an excellent job building a growth culture in our retail services business, which today provides business solutions to merchant partners in such industries as furniture, consumer electronics, power sports, home products and apparel," Aldinger said. "Sandy also introduced Six Sigma to Household, and it has now become an operating standard in many of our lines of business."

Household Vice Chairman Bobby Mehta will be responsible for Household's consumer lending and mortgage services businesses, HSBC Group's worldwide credit card operations, HSBC Bank USA's first mortgage operations, and strategic planning, corporate marketing and corporate development for HSBC North America Holdings. He joined Household in 1998 from Boston Consulting Group, to help restructure the company's credit card business. Mehta, who was based in Salinas, Calif., will relocate to Prospect Heights.

"Bobby led a dramatic improvement in profitability and enhanced customer care in our credit card business," Aldinger said. "Over the years, Bobby has attracted a very strong management team that has had broader impact across our entire organization."

Household Group Executive Patrick Cozza, who joined Household in 1998 as part of the company's acquisition of Beneficial Corporation, will continue to lead the company's insurance services and refund lending units. Cozza has been president of Household's refund lending business since 2000. His responsibilities expanded to include insurance services in 2002. Cozza will now assume responsibility for sharing best practices and product knowledge with HSBC Mexico. He will continue to report to Derickson and remain based in Bridgewater, N.J.

Household Group Executive J.C. Faulkner, who joined Household in 1999 during the company's acquisition of Decision One, has been managing director of this mortgage business unit. He will expand his portfolio of responsibilities to include leading Decision One and Household's wholesale mortgage operations. Faulkner will report to Mehta and remain based in Charlotte, N.C.

Household Group Executive Adrian Hill joined HFC Bank in 1989, serving as treasurer, finance director and chief operating officer before assuming the role of managing director and CEO in 1998. He will continue to lead HFC Bank UK in London, England, and report directly to Derickson, with continued reporting lines to HSBC Bank plc.

Household Group Executive Walter Menezes, who joined Household in 1996 as national director-collections for the credit card business, has been president and CEO of the company's auto finance business since 2002. He will now lead Household's credit card business, reporting to Mehta, and will retain oversight for the auto business, reporting to Derickson. Menezes will remain in San Diego.

HSBC North America Holdings Executive Vice President-Policy and Compliance James Kauffman joined Household in May 2002 to help strengthen the company's policy and compliance function. Prior to joining Household, he was the secretary of banking for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Kauffman will continue to report to Aldinger and remain in Prospect Heights.

Household Executive Vice President Seamus McMahon will be responsible for HSBC North America's and Household's strategic planning, corporate development and acquisitions, and the organization's ongoing integration initiatives. Seamus brings more than 20 years of global financial services experience to Household, with particular emphasis on the consumer and business markets. Most recently, Seamus served as president and CEO of TD Bank, USA, leading strategy and development for TD Bank Financial Group in the United States. McMahon will report to Mehta and be based in New York City.

Household Senior Vice President-Chief Accounting Officer Kay Nelson joined the company as senior auditor in 1985. She has been controller since 2002. Nelson will now report directly to Simon Penney, senior executive vice president-chief financial officer for HSBC North America Holdings, and remain in Prospect Heights.

HSBC Bank USA Executive Vice President-Human Resources Jeanne Ebersole joined Household in 1980 as a personnel recruiter and has held a variety of human resources roles throughout her 21-year career with the company. She has led overall human resources functions for Household's retail services, insurance services and refund lending businesses since 2002. Ebersole will now assume responsibility for the U.S. bank's human resources operation, reporting to HSBC Bank USA President and CEO Martin Glynn. She will be based in New York City.

About HSBC North America Holdings, Inc.
HSBC North America Holdings, Inc., based in Prospect Heights, Ill., is the holding company for all of HSBC's U.S. and Canadian businesses. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HBC). HSBC's North American businesses serve more than 60 million customers in five key areas: personal financial services, consumer finance, commercial banking, private banking, and corporate investment banking and markets. Financial products and services are offered under the HSBC, Household, HFC and Beneficial brands. For more information, visit www.us.hsbc.com, www.hkbc.com or www.household.com.

About Household International, Inc.
Household International, Inc., based in Prospect Heights, Ill., is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC North America Holdings, Inc., one of the top 10 financial services holding companies in the United States. Household's businesses are leading providers of consumer loans, credit cards, auto finance and credit insurance products in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. In the United States, Household companies operate under the two oldest and most recognized names in consumer finance - HFC and Beneficial. Additionally, Household's businesses are some 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 www.household.com.

About HSBC Bank USA
HSBC Bank USA has more than 400 branches in New York State, giving it the most extensive branch network in New York. The bank also has 10 branches in Florida, one in Pennsylvania, five in California, one in Washington, one in Oregon, and 15 in Panama. It is the principal subsidiary of HSBC USA Inc, an indirectly held, wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC North America Holdings, Inc., one of the nation's top 10 bank holding companies by assets. The HSBC Group, headquartered in London, has over 9,500 offices in 79 countries and territories and is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations. For more information about HSBC Bank USA and its products and services, visit www.us.hsbc.com.

For more information, contact:

Mark Friedlander
HSBC North America Holdings
(847) 564-6137
mrfriedlander@household.com