After 40 years, HSBC is closing its Australian retail bank. Your loan is being sold and will be managed by Pepper Money from 2027. Your rate and terms come with it — you won’t be charged to transfer.
HSBC has confirmed the wind-down runs in phases over roughly 18 months. There is no deadline you can miss and no action required from you today.
31 July 2026
HSBC agrees to sell its $36 billion Australian home and personal loan book to Blackstone, and stops accepting new retail customers and applications the same day.
Now
Nothing has changed. Repayments, offset and redraw all work as normal. HSBC will write to you before anything moves and confirm the transfer date. This is the window where you have the most choices.
First half of 2027
Subject to regulatory approval. Pepper takes over servicing, statements, repayments, enquiries and sends a welcome pack. You cannot opt out. Refinancing or paying out beforehand is the only way to avoid the transfer.
Through to early 2028
Transaction and savings accounts, term deposits, credit cards and branches are progressively wound down. If HSBC is your everyday bank, you’ll need somewhere else.
Nothing bad happens to your loan automatically. Your rate carries across. HSBC says so in its own FAQ and you can go and read it yourself.
What you don’t get is any promise about what comes after.
HSBC’s retail bank is closing and that includes the people whose job it was to drop your rate when you rang up and said another bank had offered you better. Pepper takes over managing the loan in 2027. Pepper’s a non-bank, so it funds its lending through wholesale markets rather than customer deposits, which is a different cost base to a major bank. Nobody’s said what pricing on these loans looks like in 2028.
It might be completely fine. You’re just not obliged to wait and find out.
And here’s the bit most people miss. The reason an investor group wanted this book is that HSBC’s borrowers are good ones. Prime, seasoned, paying on time. That’s the exact customer every major bank is chasing right now, which means you’ve got more leverage than you probably realise. Today, while you’re still easy to lend to.
Plenty of HSBC borrowers negotiated something sharp four or five years ago and haven’t touched it since. Rates have moved a long way. Most people just never had a reason to go back and look.
Moving to Pepper costs you nothing. You don’t have to
do anything, and HSBC doesn’t charge a fee for it. The figures below are what it costs if
you decide to go to a different lender instead. Most people guess a lot higher than the
real number.
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Discharge feeHSBC’s published fee for releasing the mortgage | $395 |
| Release of mortgageRemoving HSBC from the title | $248 |
| New mortgage registrationAdding your new lender to the title | $248 |
| PEXA settlement feesElectronic settlement, both sides | ~$150 |
| New lender application feeFrequently waived on refinance, and often negotiable | $0–$600 |
| Break costsOnly if you’re inside a fixed term. Can be significant, so get a written quote from HSBC before you do anything else. | Varies |
| Typical all-in cost, variable rate loan | $1,050–$1,650 |
So call it $1,300 all up on a standard variable loan.
Paid back in about nine months. Half a percent and you’re square in under five.
Rough numbers, and your loan won’t look exactly like that one. But that’s the shape of it, and it’s the calculation that actually decides this.
Working out your version of it is the job. We’ll put your current rate against what lenders are offering someone in your position right now, in writing, before you commit to anything. If the gap isn’t wide enough to be worth the paperwork, we’ll say so and you can stay where you are. Doesn’t cost you anything to find out.
Waiting doesn’t make this cheaper or dearer. Your HSBC fees carry across to Pepper unchanged, so the same discharge fee applies whether you refinance now or in 2028.
Any broker who gives you the answer before looking at your loan is guessing. So here’s the full range, including the one where you stay put.
No. HSBC has confirmed that your interest rate, fees, discounts and repayments all transfer across to Pepper Money unchanged. If you’re on a variable rate, HSBC can still move it in line with the cash rate before the transfer, exactly as it could before the announcement.
General information only. This page contains factual and general information about HSBC’s exit from Australian retail banking. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and is not credit or financial advice. You should consider whether it is appropriate for you and seek your own advice before acting.
Details of HSBC’s wind-down and the transfer to Pepper Money are drawn from HSBC’s published customer notices. Fees quoted are indicative, current as at September 2026, and subject to change — confirm current figures with HSBC and your state land registry. Rate outcomes depend on your circumstances and lender assessment; no particular rate, discount or approval is guaranteed. Lender pricing discounts are at each lender’s discretion and are not offered by all lenders or in all circumstances.
Don’t stress about finding the best loan. We’ll handle it! Answer this quick question, and we’ll search our extensive network to find the ideal loan for you for free.
Awesome! We’ll get right on this. Please fill out the form and the team will be in touch.
This includes:
Awesome! We’ll get right on this. Please fill out the form and the team will be in touch.
This includes:
Awesome! We’ll get right on this. Please fill out the form and the team will be in touch.
This includes:
Awesome! We’ll get right on this. Please fill out the form and the team will be in touch.
This includes: