HSBC Becomes the Inaugural Sponsor of WNYC Radio's Jerome L. Greene Performance Space

HSBC Becomes the Inaugural Sponsor of WNYC Radio's Jerome L. Greene Performance Space

The NEXT New York Conversation Series Begins September 23

NEW YORK, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- HSBC Bank USA, N.A. ("HSBC"), "The world's local bank," has partnered with New York public radio station WNYC Radio (93.9 FM, AM 820 and wnyc.org) to become the first-ever sponsor of live events at the station's newly opened Jerome L. Greene Performance Space.

HSBC is sponsoring the NEXT New York Conversation series, The Greene Space's new four-month dialogue series featuring a collective of changemakers, newsmakers, tastemakers and New Yorkers, sharing their values about interesting topics that are reshaping, redefining, and re-imagining our world in the 21st century. The series kicks off with "Rebranding Africa," featuring Rosalind Kilkenny, author of "Africa: Strictly Business - The Steady March to Prosperity," on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 7 p.m. Future topics will include the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, creative writing programs in the US prison systems, featuring notable guests John Turturro and Eric Bogosian, and AIDS in the African American Community featuring an intimate discussion with author Sonia Sanchez.

"WNYC's actively engaged listenership - including those who will participate in live events at The Greene Space - are exactly the kind of New Yorkers we hope will be excited to continue the ongoing values conversations," said Johanna Breman Tzur, Head of HSBC Brand & Advertising, North America. "HSBC is always looking for new and interesting ways to engage our current and prospective customers in a values conversation. Customer values are important to HSBC and help inform the development of our products and services."

"We are gratified that HSBC has become the founding corporate sponsor of The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space's signature series, The NEXT New York Conversation," said Indira Etwaroo, Executive Producer of WNYC's The Greene Space. "Our aim is to convene conversations that bring us closer to stories that matter from around the corner and around the world; conversations that speak to the complexity of living in a 21st century world with limitless possibilities to connect to one another. We're thrilled that HSBC, 'The world's local bank,' has joined us in this adventure."

In April 2009, WNYC debuted The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, a street-level, multiplatform broadcast studio and performance space, in the up-and-coming Hudson Square neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. The performance space is designed to accommodate an array of live events, from radio broadcasts to political and literary discussions to specially-commissioned performances. The studio can seat 120 people, evoking the intimacy of radio broadcasting, even as WNYC reaches approximately 1.1 million weekly listeners through a multi-media communications platform including, webcasts, live audio and video streams, and live satellite feeds.

Striving to better understand the needs of their customers by understanding what people value, HSBC recently launched their local "Values Soapbox" campaign inviting New Yorkers to share their thoughts - on both real and digital soapboxes - on a variety of topics, including immigration, education, jobs and environment. A related series of TV, digital and out-of-home soapbox ads featuring real New Yorkers is up and running throughout New York State, where the U.S. retail bank has its largest market presence. Their new brand advertising campaign also included an innovative engagement with New York magazine. Together, they created a virtual soapbox and invited five prolific commenters who frequently post feedback on nymag.com, to participate in an online values conversation to discuss four interesting topics that are relevant to today's New Yorkers: education, jobs, the environment and technology. Today, the general public can join the conversation by visiting www.ValuesSoapbox.com. To learn more about HSBC and to share your values, visit www.us.hsbc.com/values.

About HSBC Bank USA, N.A.

HSBC Bank USA, N.A. has more than 470 bank branches throughout the United States, with approximately 380 in New York State. The Bank also operates in Florida, California, Washington, D.C. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Oregon, Washington, Maryland, Illinois, Connecticut and Virginia. HSBC Bank USA, N.A. is the principal subsidiary of HSBC USA Inc., an indirectly-held, wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. HSBC USA Inc. is one of the nation's largest bank holding companies by assets. Deposits in the United States are offered by HSBC Bank USA, N.A. Member FDIC.

About WNYC Radio

WNYC Radio is New York's premier public radio station, comprising WNYC 93.9 FM, WNYC AM 820 and www.wnyc.org. As America's most listened-to AM/FM public radio stations, reaching more than one million listeners every week, WNYC extends New York City's cultural riches to the entire country on-air and online, and presents the best national offerings from networks National Public Radio, Public Radio International and American Public Media. WNYC 93.9 FM broadcasts a wide range of daily news, talk, cultural and classical music programming, while WNYC AM 820 maintains a stronger focus on breaking news and international news reporting. In addition, WNYC produces content for live, radio and web audiences from The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, the station's street-level multipurpose, multiplatform broadcast studio and performance space. For more information about WNYC, visit www.wnyc.org.

   Media inquiries to:   Kate Durham, HSBC Bank USA, N.A.,  224-544-3312, Kate.P.Durham@us.hsbc.com   Lisa Kovitz, Edelman, 212-704-4546, lisa.kovitz@edelman.com   Jennifer Houlihan, WNYC, 646-829-4497, jhoulihan@wnyc.org  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: HSBC Bank USA, N.A.

CONTACT: Kate Durham, HSBC Bank USA, N.A., +1-224-544-3312,
Kate.P.Durham@us.hsbc.com, or Lisa Kovitz, Edelman, +1-212-704-4546,
lisa.kovitz@edelman.com, or Jennifer Houlihan, WNYC, +1-646-829-4497,
jhoulihan@wnyc.org

Web Site: http://www.us.hsbc.com/values

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Profile: International Entertainment