If you have an HSBC home loan, personal loan or personal credit line, your loan is being sold. HSBC is leaving retail lending in Australia, and around 120,000 customer accounts are moving to a new owner, with Pepper Money taking over the day-to-day servicing.
Below we cover what the HSBC home loan sale involves, what changes for your loan, what stays the same, and how to tell whether a review is worth doing before the transfer completes.
Why HSBC home loans are moving to Pepper Money
On 31 July 2026, HSBC Bank Australia confirmed the sale of its Australian home and personal loan portfolio, including personal credit line accounts, to global investment manager Blackstone. The portfolio has a book value of about $36 billion and ranks among the largest home loan transactions completed anywhere in the world.
Blackstone is acquiring the loans through a dedicated investment vehicle. Pepper Money, one of Australia's largest non-bank lenders, has been appointed to service the portfolio. Once the sale completes, Pepper Money becomes the day-to-day point of contact for these loans. Completion is expected in the first half of 2027 and remains subject to regulatory approvals.
Separately, HSBC is winding down the rest of its Australian retail business in phases over roughly 18 months. That covers transaction accounts, savings, term deposits, credit cards, foreign currency accounts and wealth products. The bank's corporate, institutional, private banking and asset management operations in Australia are not affected.
You don't need to do anything today. Your loan continues on its existing terms, and both HSBC and Pepper Money have said they will write to affected customers with confirmed dates and any required steps closer to the transfer.
What changes for your HSBC home loan
The commercial terms of your loan stay as they are. What changes is who manages the loan, plus a handful of administrative details.
- Pepper Money becomes your point of contact for repayments, enquiries, loan changes and ongoing support.
- If you have an offset account, it becomes a split sub-account within the loan. Moving the balance across requires your consent, and that consent has a deadline attached.
- Statements move to a half-yearly cycle from the transfer date.
- Any HSBC debit card linked to the loan is replaced.
- Your HSBC deposit accounts, savings and credit cards close separately as part of the 18-month wind-down.
What stays the same after the transfer
For most borrowers, the parts of the loan that matter most do not move at all.
- Your interest rate. Your loan is not switched to Pepper Money's advertised rates.
- Your repayments, fees and any package discounts.
- Redraw on eligible Australian dollar home loans.
- Your fixed rate, which continues to the end of the fixed period.
- Any existing hardship or repayment arrangement.
- Your relationship with your broker.
- No fee applies to the transfer itself.
When to review your HSBC loan before the transfer
The transfer protects your current terms, but that doesn't make them a competitive deal. In a few situations a review before completion is well worth doing.
- You rely on an offset account. The structure changes, and you will be asked to consent within a set window. Make sure you understand how the split account works before you sign anything.
- Your fixed rate is close to expiry. That conversation will otherwise happen with a departing bank or with a servicer you did not choose. Reviewing early keeps the timing on your terms, and it lets you weigh any break costs against the saving before you commit.
- You are an expat or you earn foreign income. HSBC has long been a default choice for this profile, and many borrowers assume their options shrink once they leave. Several Australian banks and specialist lenders actively write this kind of lending, and a broker can compare them side by side.
- You are planning to borrow more. HSBC assesses additional borrowing before the sale, and Pepper Money assesses it afterwards. If a renovation, an investment purchase or a refinance is on the horizon, the timing of that request matters, and there are ways to strengthen your borrowing capacity first.
Can you opt out of the HSBC loan transfer?
No. Every mortgage contract allows a lender to sell the loan to another party, and if your loan is still with HSBC at completion, it moves with the portfolio. The only way to sit outside the transfer is to refinance or repay the loan before it happens.
That doesn't mean anyone should rush into a refinance based on a headline. Your rate and repayments carry across unchanged, so the transfer itself poses no threat to what you pay. The more useful question is whether the rate you agreed with HSBC, often several years ago, still holds up against what is available today.
A borrower sitting on an old rate with no easy path to a better one is what the industry calls a mortgage prisoner, and a bank exit is a natural moment to check you are not becoming one. For many HSBC borrowers who settled when rates looked very different, it may be worth refinancing.
How Stryve Finance can help
The transfer runs on HSBC's timetable, but you can review your loan on yours.
The Stryve Finance team can show you exactly where you stand: your rate, loan structure, offset arrangement and any fixed rate expiry, measured against what the wider market would offer you today.
- We review your current HSBC loan and compares it across a broad panel of Australian banks and lenders, including those active in expat and foreign income lending.
- We approach the lenders on your behalf, so you deal with one team rather than each bank in turn.
- We manage the process end to end, from application and documentation through valuation, settlement and the discharge from HSBC.
Before you speak with anyone, you can get a quick sense of the numbers with the Stryve refinance calculator.
Would you like to know where your HSBC loan stands? Speak with the Stryve Finance team for a complimentary review, and find out what a move would look like before the transfer takes place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my HSBC home loan safe after the sale?
Yes. Your loan is a contract, and it continues on its existing terms. The interest rate, repayments, fees, discounts, and any fixed-rate period all carry across to Pepper Money unchanged. No one is calling in your mortgage.
Do I need to do anything right now?
No. HSBC and Pepper Money will write to affected customers with confirmed dates and any steps closer to the transfer. The one thing to watch for is the consent request if you use an offset account.
Can I stop my loan from being transferred to Pepper Money?
You cannot opt out of the transfer itself. If your loan is still held with HSBC when the sale completes, it moves with the portfolio. The only way to remain outside it is to refinance or repay the loan before completion.
Will my interest rate go up when Pepper Money takes over?
Your loan won't move onto Pepper Money's advertised rates at transfer. Your existing rate carries across. If you have a variable rate, normal rate movements can still apply in line with your loan agreement, as they would with any lender.
When will the transfer happen?
Completion is expected in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Until then, HSBC continues to own and manage the loans.
Should I refinance now or wait?
You don't need to refinance just because your loan is moving. What matters is whether your current rate and features are still competitive today. A review before the transfer lets you decide on the numbers rather than the headlines.
Sources
- HSBC Australia media release, 31 July 2026 (announcement of the sale to Blackstone)
- Pepper Money HSBC customer information page
- Blackstone press release, 31 July 2026
Dylan Bertovic is the Director and Senior Finance Broker at Stryve Finance, specialising in non-traditional lending solutions. He helps clients across Australia with tiny home loans, construction finance, equipment and asset lending, refinancing, and investor loans. With deep expertise in self-employed and renovation mortgages, Dylan is known for crafting tailored strategies that get results.
