 Under the chairmanship of John Bond, it spent £9 billion (US$15.5 billion) to acquire Household Finance Corporation (HFC), a US credit card issuer and subprime lender.In a 2003 cover story, "The Banker" noted "when banking historians look back, they may conclude that [it] was the deal of the first decade of the 21st century".Under the new name of HSBC Finance, the division was the second largest subprime lender in the United States.