CEO Noel Quinn said US-China tensions had so far not had a material impact on earnings but he acknowledged that "current tensions between China and the US inevitably create challenging situations for an organization with HSBC's footprint."

"We will face any political challenges that arise with a focus on the long-term needs of our customers and the best interests of our investors," he added.

The bank warned that expected credit losses for 2020 could hit as much as $13 billion this year, worse than earlier estimates "given the deterioration in consensus economic forecasts."

The company also disclosed a $1.2 billion writedown due to an "impairment of software intangibles, mainly in Europe."

Falling income didn't help either.

"But I come back to, we've seen a very strong performance in the first half of this year from our business in Asia."

The company pulled in $7.4 billion in pre-tax profits in Asia over the first half, "demonstrating the strength and continued resilience of our operations in the region," HSBC said.

Chief Financial Officer Ewen Stevenson added that the bank would look out for a number of factors in the second half, including US-China tensions and "any impact this has on our Hong Kong franchise."