HSBC??s consumer finance division will require further capital injections for several years, the bank admitted Monday, as it revealed the business had destroyed about $10bn in shareholder value since it was bought six years ago.
The bank said it would stop making new consumer loans through HSBC Finance Corporation and close down 800 US branches in an effort to draw a line under the business, formerly known as Household, which it bought in 2003 for $15bn in stock and which has suffered in the US subprime meltdown.
??With the benefit of hindsight, the group wishes that it hadn??t made this investment,? Michael Geoghegan, HSBC??s chief executive, said on Monday.
