I used to do all my checking, savings, and have my main credit card with HSBC in Sydney and in NYC. I have a good credit score and was never late on a payment with my credit card, keeping balance usually at $0. I assumed I was a model customer to my bank. In early 2009, I got a notice from HSBC saying they were lowering my available credit limit on my credit card by 97%.

I called HSBC immediately. I explained my shocked disbelief and insisted this must be a mistake to the customer service representative on the phone. She gave no explanation as to why this action had been taken, then went directly into her required up-sell to get me to buy overdraft protection. I hung up on her.

I did some research on "the google" to find answers as to why I was being treated so badly. Turns out, HSBC was dumping a lot of US credit accounts like gangbusters in 2009. In an effort to lighten their insurance on credit risks with customers, they were significantly lowering a lot of those credit accounts they had to insure against, and they were going after a lot of inactive users, as well as zero balance users off whom they weren't making money. Suddenly it made more sense. This was HSBC's answer to weathering the financial crisis. I was lucky - many customers were reporting that HSBC had significantly lowered their available credit limit to a much lower amount than they currently owed, thereby causing them high over-limit credit charges each month.