Summary Box: HSBC exits US auto finance market, sells business to Spain’s Santander

Summary Box: HSBC sells US auto finance units

IT’S OVER: British bank HSBC Holdings PLC has sold its last U.S. auto finance businesses to Spain’s Santander for about $3.56 billion in cash, completing its exit from a market that cost it billions during the financial meltdown.

THE DEAL: On top of the payment, the Santander Consumer USA Inc. unit is assuming $431 million in debt. The loan book acquired by Santander was valued at $4.3 billion.

BACKDROP: The deal follows a similar move in March, when Santander bought $1 billion in auto finance loan receivables from HSBC. The British bank’s $14 billion acquisition of Household International in 2002 made it the biggest subprime lender in the U.S., forcing the write-down of billions in dud U.S. loans in the global credit crisis.