HSBC to Stop Making Auto Loans in U.S.

International banking giant HSBC said in a conference call today that it will stop granting auto loans in the U.S. as it restructures its business in the country in the face of a difficult consumer economic environment.

In a call to discuss first half operating results, the London-based bank – recently named world’s largest bank by Forbes on the basis of a composite score – said that it would wind down its $13 billion portfolio of auto loans by letting the loans run their natural course and not extending any additional credit in the U.S. auto market. The company expects the portfolio to be reduced by about 80 percent over the next three years.

HSBC’s consumer finance unit in North America will focus on credit cards and other consumer loans going forward.

The move comes as the bank has increasingly viewed the U.S. consumer finance market as a drag on earnings.

Overall in the first half of 2008, HSBC’s North American operations reported a $2.89 billion pretax loss, compared to a profit of $2.4 billion in the first six months of 2007.