HSBC update on Household acqn

HSBC Holdings PLC
20 December 2002

                           HSBC Holdings plc ("HSBC")

       Proposed Acquisition of Household International, Inc ("Household")

On 14 November 2002, HSBC announced that agreement had been reached for HSBC to
acquire Household. In connection with the proposed acquisition, HSBC has today
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington DC a
Registration Statement on Form F-4. The Merger Agreement entered into by HSBC,
Household and a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC is included as an attachment to
the Preliminary Proxy Statement / Prospectus included in the Registration
Statement.

Shareholders should be aware that the Registration Statement on Form F-4 filed
today and the Preliminary Proxy Statement / Prospectus contained therein are
subject to changes, deletions or additions which may or may not be material in
nature. Such changes, deletions or additions can be made at any time until the
Registration Statement is declared effective and the definitive Proxy Statement
/ Prospectus is mailed to Household stockholders (in connection with the seeking
of their approval of the transaction) which will not occur until the New Year
and even thereafter can be amended or supplemented at any time until the
Household stockholder meeting to vote on the merger is held. Any changes to the
information contained in the Registration Statement are not required to be
announced. No reliance should therefore be placed on the information contained
in the Registration Statement filed today.

A circular will be dispatched to HSBC shareholders giving further details of the
acquisition and convening an extraordinary general meeting to approve the
acquisition. This will contain the information necessary for HSBC shareholders
to consider the transaction and will be prepared in accordance with the listing
rules of the UK Listing Authority and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is
envisaged that this circular will be dispatched at or around the same time as
the definitive Proxy Statement / Prospectus is mailed to Household stockholders.

Copies of this Registration Statement will be available on the SEC website at
www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml under HSBC's company filings and on www.hsbc.com. In
addition a copy of the Registration Statement has been submitted to the UK
Listing Authority and will shortly be available for inspection at the UK Listing
Authority Document Viewing Facility, which is situated at:

Financial Services Authority

25 The North Colonnade

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5HS

Tel no: (0) 20 7676 1000

(Documents will usually be available for inspection within six normal business
hours of this notice being given.)


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange