Banking group HSBC saw pre-tax profits halve to $5bn (£2.98bn) in the first six months of 2009. Rising bad debts in the US, Europe and Asia forced it to write-off $13.9bn – 39% more than the same period in 2008.

Earlier Barclays also announced pre-tax half-year profits of £2.98bn boosted by its investment banking arm.

HSBC is in the process of closing most of its retail lending operations in the US, having taken hefty losses from mortgages which went unpaid. Unlike many of its peers, HSBC has not had to go to governments for extra cash.

It decided instead to ask existing shareholders for more money through a rights issue in April, which raised $17.8bn.