SNR APPTS HSBC NORTH AMERICA

HSBC Holdings PLC
28 February 2005


                   SENIOR APPOINTMENTS IN HSBC NORTH AMERICA

William F Aldinger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HSBC North America
Holdings Inc. and of HSBC Finance Corporation (formerly Household International,
Inc.) and Chairman of HSBC Bank USA, N.A., is to retire on 29 April 2005. He
will also step down from the Board of HSBC Holdings plc and from the Boards of
other HSBC Group companies on the same date.

HSBC Finance Corporation was acquired by the HSBC Group in March 2003.
Mr Aldinger, who had served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since
1994, agreed to stay on for a period of three years to oversee the integration
of HSBC Finance Corporation into the enlarged HSBC Group. He was appointed
Chairman and Chief Executive of HSBC North America, Inc., and of HSBC North
America Holdings Inc., which serves as the holding company for all HSBC
businesses in the region. The integration programme has proceeded successfully
and faster than expected and it has been agreed between Mr Aldinger and HSBC
that his task has been completed ahead of expectations.

Upon Mr Aldinger's retirement it is intended that the following appointments
will be made:

Carl E Reichardt will become non-executive Chairman of HSBC North America
Holdings Inc. A former Chairman and Chief Executive of Wells Fargo & Company, he
served as a non-executive Director of HSBC Holdings plc from 1996 to 2002. He is
also a Director of Ford Motor Company and ConAgra Foods, Inc.

Bobby Mehta, currently a Vice Chairman of HSBC Finance Corporation, will become
Chief Executive of HSBC North America Holdings Inc., and Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of HSBC Finance Corporation. He will also be appointed a Group
Managing Director of HSBC Holdings plc.

Sandy Derickson will continue as Vice Chairman of HSBC Finance Corporation with
expanded responsibilities. She will be appointed a Group General Manager.

Stephen Green, Group Chief Executive of HSBC Holdings plc, will become Chairman
of HSBC Bank USA, N.A.

Martin Glynn, will continue as Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank USA, N.A.

Sir John Bond, Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings plc, said: "The acquisition of
Household International in 2003 was a major development for HSBC. We said at the
time how important it was to have someone of Bill Aldinger's experience oversee
the initial phase of the company's integration into the HSBC Group and to ensure
that our shareholders achieved the benefits of the transaction.

"It is a tribute to Bill's energy and leadership that he has completed this task
faster than planned and that he has established a talented management team to
take our North American business to the next stage of its development. We thank
him warmly for his contribution. He will leave with our best wishes for the
future."

Notes to editors:

The HSBC Group
HSBC Holdings plc, the holding company for the HSBC Group, is headquartered in
the UK. The HSBC Group serves over 110 million customers worldwide from over
9,800 offices in 77 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific
region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$1,277
billion at 31 December 2004, the HSBC Group is one of the world's largest
banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as 'the
world's local bank'.




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