(5 August 2005 – USA) HSBC Finance unit has snapped up US based Metris for US$1.59 billion to bolster the bank’s position in the US credit card market.The acquisition of Metris is the latest in a recent series as the US cards market undergoes greater consolidation.
In June, Bank of America bought MBNA for US$35 billion; and Washington Mutual paid US$6.45 billion for Providian Financial.
HSBC is the sixth largest issuer of Visa and MasterCard in the US and analysts expect the British bank to make further acquisitions.
HSBC Finance came into being when HSBC bought Household International in 2003. The bank has one of the top ten financial services franchises in the US.