HSBC admits buying Household International was a disaster
“The most recent high profile mortgage distress signal came from HSBC, the world’s third largest bank in marketcap size behind Citigroup and Bank of America. What an unmitigated disaster their acquisition was in 2003 of Household International, a lender to subprime borrowers. HSBC increased their loan loss reserves to $1.38 billion in Q3 from $1.25 …