Household Offers to Settle Suit by Borrowers

Household International Inc. said it had proposed settling a lawsuit brought by borrowers and community groups over its lending practices.

Household, a unit of London-based HSBC Holdings, the world’s No. 2 bank by market value, said the settlement would include reducing interest rates and waiving penalty charges for borrowers who have missed payments and are in danger of losing their homes.

Household, based in Prospect Heights, Ill., also would fund programs to educate borrowers, it said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The proposal came almost a year after Household agreed to a $484-million settlement of a case in which the lender was charged with misleading borrowers about the terms of their home loans. The company specializes in lending to people with poor credit histories.