(30 October 2007 – UK) HSBC could spin off its online credit card business, Marbles, according to reports in the UK media.Marbles was part of the package when HSBC bought HFC Bank, formerly Household International, in 2003 but is a separate portfolio than can be sold off without too much difficulty.
Marbles was established eight years ago as one of the first online credit card outfits in the UK.
However, the business has not been actively marketed for several months as HSBC considering doing so uneconomic in the face of heated competition in the UK credit card market.
Several private equity consortiums and hedge funds are reportedly sniffing around Marbles.