HSBC USA Inc.

Niall S. K. Booker , age 50 joined HSBC Finance Corporation s Board in August 2007. Mr. Booker also serves as Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Finance Corporation since February 2008. He has been a Director of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. since February 2008 and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. since May 2008. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. from February 2008. From April 2007 to February 2008 he was Chief Operating Officer of HSBC Finance Corporation and Group Executive of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. Mr. Booker was Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank Middle East Limited from May 2006 to May 2007 and has served as a Group General Manager of HSBC since January 2004. Mr. Booker joined the HSBC Group in 1981 as an International Manager and has held several positions within the HSBC organization since acquiring extensive international experience and skills by building different businesses within various positions in the HSBC Group. Over the years, he has worked in retail banking in Brunei and the UK, syndicated loans and specialized finance in Hong Kong, banking operations in Abu Dhabi and Trade Finance and corporate banking in Japan. He led HSBC s business in Thailand after the 1997 financial crises in Asia and in three tenures in the United States. Mr. Booker worked in Treasury, was responsible for the work out of assets for Concord Leasing and lastly, was CEO, International Private Banking, Americas. He went to India in July 2002 as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and took over as Chief Executive Officer and Country Head for HSBC in India, in November 2002. Mr. Booker is a member of the Executive Committee.

Michael Geoghegan is President of HSBC Bank Brasil S.A. - Banco Multiplo, and of HSBC Investment Bank Brasil S.A. and HSBC Seguros S.A. He joined the HSBC Group in 1973 and, since then, has spent 12 years in North and South America, eight years in Asia, seven years in the Middle East and three years in Europe. He arrived in Brazil in March 1997 to establish the Group's operations in the country following the creation of Banco HSBC Bamerindus S.A. He was appointed a Group General Manager of HSBC Holdings plc in the same year.

Lindsay Gordon is Chief Operating Officer of HSBC Bank Canada. He is also the bank's senior executive in central and eastern Canada, resident in Toronto. Mr Gordon joined HSBC Bank Canada in Toronto in 1987 and has served in a variety of senior positions in both Vancouver and Toronto. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer in December 1999. Mr Gordon was born in Shetlands Islands in 1952. He holds a BA (1973) and an MBA (1976) from the University of British Columbia. He serves on a variety of Boards including Ch.I.L.D. Foundation, York University Foundation, Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation, The Canada China Business Council, The Canadian Club of Toronto, and Junior Achievement Canada. Mr Gordon is married and has four children.

William Dalton is Chief Executive of HSBC Bank plc, a Director of HSBC Holdings plc and Global Head of Personal Financial Services. Mr Dalton joined the Bank of Montreal in 1961 where he held senior line and staff positions. In 1980 he joined Wardley Canada Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, as Vice President. In 1981, Wardley Canada Limited became part of the newly-formed Hongkong Bank of Canada (now HSBC Bank Canada) and Mr Dalton served as Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration. In 1987, Mr Dalton became a Director of HSBC Bank Canada and was appointed Chief Operating Officer, based in Toronto. He became President and Chief Executive Officer in 1992, when he was also appointed a Director of HSBC USA Inc, and a Director of its principal operating company, HSBC Bank USA. In April 1998, Mr Dalton became Chief Executive of Midland Bank plc (now HSBC Bank plc) and a Director of HSBC Holdings plc. In August 2000 he was appointed Global Head of Personal Financial Services. He is a Director of CCF SA, HSBC Private Banking Holdings (Suisse) SA and Household International, Inc. He is also a Director of MasterCardTM International Incorporated. Mr Dalton was born in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, in December 1943. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and graduated with honours in 1971 from the University of British Columbia where he majored in Finance and Economics. In February 2001, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Central England in Birmingham. Mr Dalton is a Fellow of, and a Vice President of, the Chartered Institute of Bankers, and a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers. Mr Dalton is Chairman of Young Enterprise UK, a member of the Whizz-Kidz Development Board and a member of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) President's Committee. He is also a Trustee of Crimestoppers Trust and a Trustee of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh's Commonwealth Study Conferences (UK Fund). He is also a Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, and a Vice President of the British Bankers' Association. Mr Dalton is married with one daughter and one son, and three grand-daughters.

Susan E. Artmann , Executive Vice President, Taxpayer Financial Services of HSBC Finance Corporation since November 2008. Since September 2008, Ms. Artmann has been the President of HSBC Taxpayer Financial Services Inc. and from September 2000 to September 2008 she was Chief Financial Officer (including Chief Credit Policy Officer from September 2000 to December 2005) of HSBC Taxpayer Financial Services Inc. Prior to that Ms. Artmann was National Director of Product Pricing and Profitability, Credit Risk Management and Credit Operations Retail Services for Household International from July 1998 to August 2000. Ms. Artmann has held various positions within HSBC since joining HSBC in February 1985. Prior to joining HSBC, Ms. Artmann was an Auditor for Coopers & Lybrand. Since November 2007, Ms. Artmann has been on the Board of Directors of HSBC Trust Company (Delaware), N.A. Ms. Artmann sits on the Board of Trustees for the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.

Douglas J. Flint , age 53, joined HSBC Finance Corporation s Board in February 2007. Since May 2008, Mr. Flint has served as a member of the Board of Directors of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. Mr. Flint serves as Group Finance Director with responsibility for investor relations, finance and tax at HSBC. He joined HSBC as an executive Director in 1995. Mr. Flint chaired the Financial Reporting Council s review of the Turnbull Guidance on Internal Control, served on the Accounting Standards Board and the Standards Advisory Council of the International Accounting Standards Board from 2001 to 2004 and is a former partner of KPMG. He is a non-executive Director of BP plc since January 2005 and is a member of the Consultative Committee of the Large Business Advisory Board of HM Revenue & Customs. Mr. Flint is the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board and an ex-officio (non-voting) member of the Audit Committee.

George A. Lorch , age 67, joined HSBC Finance Corporation s Board in September 1994. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. From May 2000 until August 2000, Mr. Lorch served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Armstrong Holdings Inc. (the parent of Armstrong World Industries, Inc.). Mr. Lorch served as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (a manufacturer of interior finishes) from 1994 and President and Chief Executive Officer from 1993 until May 1994. Mr. Lorch is a Director of The Williams Companies, Inc., Autoliv, Inc. and Pfizer Inc. Mr. Lorch is a member of the Executive and Audit Committees.

Samuel Minzberg , age 59, joined HSBC Finance Corporation s Board in May 2008. He has been a Director of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. since March 2005. Mr. Minzberg is a partner with the law firm of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg, in Montreal. From January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2002, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Claridge Inc., a management and holding company. Until December 31, 1997, Mr. Minzberg was a partner at the Montreal predecessor firm to Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. Mr. Minzberg is currently a Director of HSBC Bank Canada, Reitmans (Canada) Limited, Quebecor Media Inc., and a Director and President of the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital. Mr. Minzberg is a member of the Audit Committee.