Remaining CCF Shares

HSBC Hldgs PLC
5 September 2000


             HSBC TO BUY-OUT REMAINING CCF SHARES

HSBC Holdings plc ('HSBC') has confirmed today to the board of
Credit Commercial de France ('CCF') its intention to launch a
buy-out offer followed by a mandatory acquisition ('the
Offer') of CCF shares. The conclusions of the valuation report
prepared in the context of the Offer by Goldman Sachs and HSBC
Investment Bank were presented to the CCF board.

The Offer follows the recommended cash or share offer for CCF
shares which was open between 7 June 2000 and 12 July 2000.
This offer was accepted by the holders of 55,883,860 CCF
shares, so that, together with the 17,925,246 shares
previously purchased by HSBC, HSBC holds 98.59 per cent of
CCF's issued share capital.

Given HSBC's intention to undertake a mandatory acquisition of
the CCF shares, which must be made, according to French
Takeover Rules, in cash, HSBC has indicated to the CCF board
its intention to launch the buy-out offer in cash. HSBC
therefore intends to propose an Offer price of EUR150 per
share, which corresponds to the terms of the public cash offer
of the initial offer. The CCF board has recommended this
proposal, subject to the completion of some formalities.

CCF's interim results will be published on 6 September 2000.
Advisors to HSBC will finalise their work in order to file the
Offer with the Conseil des Marches Financiers ('CMF') shortly.
Following approval of the terms of the Offer by the CMF and
the review of the documentation by the Commission des
Operations de Bourse, a prospectus containing the details of
the Offer will be published in a daily financial newspaper at
the latest on the day preceding the opening of the Offer.
                                              
Regulatory statements

This announcement is authorised, and its contents have been
approved, by HSBC Investment Bank plc, which is regulated in
the United Kingdom by The Securities and Futures Authority
Limited.

HSBC Investment Bank plc and Goldman Sachs International, each
of which is regulated by The Securities and Futures Authority
Limited, are each acting for HSBC and no-one else in
connection with the Offer and will not be responsible to
anyone other than HSBC for providing protections afforded to
their respective customers or for providing advice in relation
to the Offer.

Under the safe harbor provisions to the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, HSBC cautions
investors that any forward-looking statements or projections
made by HSBC, including those made in this document, are
subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected. Factors
that may affect HSBC's operations are discussed in HSBC's
Annual Report on Form 20-F for 1999, filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission.