DBRS Finalizes AAA Rating of HSBC USA Inc.’s FDIC Guaranteed Notes Issuance

DBRS has today finalized the AAA rating of the $2.325 billion 3.125% Guaranteed Notes due December 16, 2011, issued by HSBC USA Inc. DBRS notes that the issue was upsized from the original $2 billion that received a AAA preliminary rating on December 10, 2008. The rating is based on the explicit guarantee provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP), which is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Under the TLGP, the FDIC guarantees payment of qualifying debt issued by eligible U.S. bank holding companies, such as HSBC USA Inc.

The AAA rating reflects DBRS’s opinion as to the guarantor’s ability to honor the guarantee as determined by internal assessment of the sovereign. All other debt ratings, including HSBC USA Inc.’s AA Issuer & Senior Debt rating, remain at their current levels. The trend on all ratings remains Stable.

Note:
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

The applicable methodology is Rating Banks and Bank Holding Companies Operating in the United States, which can be found on our website under Methodologies.

This is a Corporate (Financial Institutions) rating.