HSBC Holdings, Europe's largest bank, today said that it will sell its US subsidiary HSBC Finance Corp's personal unsecured loan and personal homeowner loan portfolios and other assets to SpringCastle Acquisition LLC and Newcastle Investment Corp, for $3.2 billion in cash.

HSBC Finance Corp will also sell its loan servicing facility and related assets in London, Kentucky to Springleaf.

The London-based bank expects to complete divestments by the fourth quarter of 2013, following a transitional period to allow for the conversion of loans being sold to SpringCastle.

Post closing, a majority of employees located in Kentucky will become Springleaf employees.

At 31 December 2012, the carrying value of the gross assets being sold was approximately $3.4 billion.

Patrick Burke, CEO, HSBC Finance Corp, said, ''These agreements accelerate the run-off of the legacy consumer mortgage and lending business and are a continuation of HSBC's strategy to reposition its US operations and focus on the core businesses supporting our aim to be the world's leading international bank.''

HSBC has been burdened by the disastrous legacy of its 2003 US foray when it took over Household International for $15 billion.

After years of aggressive lending following the deal, HSBC was left with losses of tens of billions of dollars as one of the biggest sub-prime lenders when the US housing market went under.

With the scale of the crisis becoming clear, the lender shut its US consumer loans business and had been selling off assets on the book.

Its US business will now focus more on commercial banking and investment banking in a shift away from retail customers. The bank last year sold off its US credit card business and 195 branches amounting to around half its network.