WASHINGTON - HSBC - North America and the Society for Financial Education and Professional Development (SFEPD) today announced a $750,000 multi-year partnership through which HSBC, one of the nation's largest financial services firms, will fund credit and personal money management training for more than 20,000 students in the next three years at historically black colleges and universities nationwide.

SFEPD will administer the training sessions, with the curriculum focusing on credit management, savings and investments, budgeting, establishing financial goals and other personal finance topics.

The first course under the new HSBC-SFEPD partnership was delivered this week at Virginia State University. Additional workshops will be offered in the coming weeks at Rust College in Mississippi, Savannah State University in Georgia, Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina, and Delaware State University. Seminars will be held at 61 universities during the 2005-2006 academic year.

"Now more than ever, it's critical that young adults understand how their short-term financial decisions affect them over the long term," said Loretta Abrams, HSBC's vice president of community development and consumer advocacy. "Our credit profile is inextricably linked to the interest rates we pay when buying a home or a car and our ability to get certain jobs. The knowledge of how to make wise credit choices is one of the best gifts we can give to our next generation of leaders."

SFEPD has offered financial literacy training to college students since 2001.

"The seminars offered by the Society for Financial Education and Professional Development and HSBC will give students a better understanding of personal financial management and the practical, everyday uses of financial management strategies," said Theodore R. Daniels, SFEPD's president and chief executive officer. "We expect this project will inspire young men and women to share their knowledge with families and friends and will enhance financial literacy in the African-American community at large."

HSBC's partnership with SFEPD is managed by the HSBC Center for Consumer Advocacy, which was established in 2003 to direct the company's broad range of financial education and housing programs and its community outreach initiatives.

"The Society for Financial Education and Professional Development and HSBC should be applauded for empowering young consumers with the tools they need to be fiscally fit and fiscally confident, and for ensuring that their efforts reach a diverse audience," said Dr. John A. Wheatland, director of freshman programs at Morgan State University in Maryland. "With many Americans expressing increasing discomfort about their future credit situation, partnerships like this one between private businesses, nonprofits and universities will go far in helping young people manage their money and reach their potential."

HSBC's giving to educational initiatives represents 60 percent of the firm's total giving in the United States this year. Initiatives supported by the company include adult financial education programs, college scholarship and internship programs for women and minorities, and business and economics education for students in primary and secondary schools.

"It is extremely important that all college students, especially those of historically black colleges and universities, have a keen awareness of personal financial management as they embark on their careers," said J. Mack Willis, owner of an Atlanta assisted-living facility and a graduate of Fort Valley State University, an historically black university in Georgia. "In the long run, the most successful individual is not always the one who earns the most. Oftentimes, the most successful is the one who best manages his or her financial resources."

HSBC's support of higher education also includes the HSBC - North America Military Financial Education Center at the University of Maryland - University College Web site (www.umuc.edu), as well as a two-year, $200,000 commitment to fund scholarships and financial education at Bennett College for Women, an historically black college in Greensboro, N.C. The company also has granted $25,000 in scholarships to students at North Carolina Central University, along with internship opportunities at HFC and Beneficial consumer lending branch offices. The company also maintains the personal financial education Web site www.yourmoneycounts.com.

Through the HSBC/UNCF Corporate Scholars Program, a four-year, multi-million dollar initiative launched in 2001, HSBC offers scholarships and internship opportunities to outstanding minority students majoring in accounting, business, computer science/MIS, economics, finance, human resources, marketing and mathematics. Through the program, administered by the United Negro College Fund, HSBC has employed 29 interns since summer 2002 and contributed more than $2 million. HSBC employees raised an additional $287,000 through a workplace giving campaign in 2004, making HSBC one of UNCF's largest contributors.

HSBC also has granted $800,000 to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund in a multi-year commitment to fund scholarship opportunities and the organization's newsletter.

About HSBC - North America

HSBC - North America comprises all of HSBC's U.S. and Canadian businesses, including the former Household International businesses. The company's businesses serve nearly 60 million customers in five key areas: personal financial services, consumer finance, commercial banking, private banking and corporate investment banking and markets. Financial products and services are offered under the HSBC, HFC and Beneficial brands. For more information, visit: http://www.hsbcusa.com.

HSBC -- North America

HSBC -- North America

HSBC North America comprises all of HSBC's U.S. and Canadian businesses, including the former Household International businesses. The company's businesses serve nearly 60 million customers in five key areas: personal financial services, consumer finance, commercial banking, private banking and corporate investment banking and markets. Financial products and services are offered under the HSBC, HFC and Beneficial brands. For more information, visit: www.hsbcusa.com.

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