HSBC Extends Calypso Usage to Equity Derivatives

San Francisco, 13 August 2003 – Calypso Technology announced today that the HSBC Bank USA has extended its use of Calypso to equity derivatives products. HSBC is already live on Calypso for credit derivatives.

"Calypso has given us faster time to market. We were live on the first equity derivative product within 9 months of the decision," said Sandeep Saksena, Head of Derivatives and FX IT at HSBC Bank USA. "We expect to move all our equity derivatives business to Calypso by the end of this year."

Cost reduction was another factor in HSBC's decision.

"Given the success of the credit derivatives project, we wanted to expand our use of Calypso," added Saksena. "Using one system to process multiple products saves us money. Our support costs are reduced, and our team can focus on more value added activities."

HSBC joins a growing list of existing Calypso customers expanding their use of the system.
"We are pleased HSBC has extended its use of Calypso. It is a measure of their confidence in the product," said Kishore Bopardikar, President of Calypso Technology. "It is a simple formula for success: satisfied, long-term clients."

HSBC Bank USA
About HSBC Bank USA has more than 410 branches in New York State, giving it the most extensive branch network in New York. The bank also has eight branches in Florida, two in Pennsylvania, three in California and 17 in Panama. HSBC Bank USA is the tenth largest US commercial bank ranked by assets and is a subsidiary of HSBC USA Inc, an indirectly-held, wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HBC). Headquartered in London, and with over 7,000 offices in 81 countries and territories, the HSBC Group is one of the world's leading banking and financial services organizations. For more information about HSBC Bank USA and its products and services visit http://www.us.hsbc.com/.