News Release

Jeffrey Klein Joins HSBC's Asset Management Unit to Lead U.S. Corporate Bond Team

20 April 2005

NEW YORK – Jeffrey Klein has joined HSBC's asset management unit as head of U.S. corporate bond management. Based in New York, Klein reports to Gregg Diliberto, global head of fixed income.

Klein will oversee all aspects of corporate bond investment and will be one of the senior portfolio managers leading the U.S. core fixed income team. Both Klein and Diliberto will be part of HSBC Halbis Partners, a specialized investment unit HSBC is forming out of its existing global asset management business. The formation of HSBC Halbis Partners, announced in December, is pending necessary legal and regulatory approvals.

"The appointment of Jeffrey Klein provides us with strong leadership in the management of U.S. corporate bonds and materially strengthens our U.S. core fixed income product," Gregg Diliberto said. "This is the latest demonstration of our commitment to developing worldclass fixed income capabilities for distribution to professional investors worldwide." Prior to joining HSBC, Klein was at Dodge & Cox, one of the leading fixed income investment managers in the U.S., where he spent 12 years as a senior portfolio manager responsible for credit strategy. As a member of the firm's bond strategy committee and investment policy committee, he made a significant contribution to the firm's outstanding track record in fixed income.

About HSBC Halbis Partners
HSBC Halbis Partners will be a trading name of HSBC Investments (USA) Inc. Legal and regulatory approvals are being obtained to establish HSBC Halbis Partners. Pending such approvals, HSBC Investments will conduct all asset management business that HSBC Halbis Partners is planning to carry out in the near future. HSBC Halbis Partners will be a specialized fundamental active investment business, focusing on delivering sustainable value-added performance in areas including fixed income, emerging markets equities, European equities and some alternative strategies. It will have investing professionals based in London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong.