HSBC's post-tax profits plunged by 69 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2020, recorded at 3.1 billion U.S. dollars. The bank cited disruptions from the on-going pandemic and China-U.S. trade tensions as main challenges in its interim results published on Monday.

"Our first-half performance was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, falling interest rates, increased geopolitical risk and heightened levels of market volatility," noted the group's chief executive Noel Quinn.

The lender reported revenue was down nine percent at 26.7 billion U.S. dollars in the same period last year. However, Quinn said the bank's Asia businesses showed good resilience with profit before tax of 7.4 billion U.S. dollars.

HSBC makes 90 percent of its profit in Asia, with mainland China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region being the major drivers of growth.

The bank said it intends to push forward with cost-cutting in the second half of 2020, following announcement earlier this year to cut 35,000 jobs, reduce investment banking and restructure in the U.S. and Europe.

Entanglement with Huawei

"Current tensions between China and the U.S. inevitably create challenging situations for an organization with HSBC's footprint," Quinn said in Monday's statement.

HSBC has been caught in a high profile legal battle stretching on for more than 19 months. The bank has allegedly presented "misleading evidence" that resulted in the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

The latest disclosure shows HSBC being 'accomplice' of U.S. political scheme against Meng, who was arrested in December 2018 at the Vancouver International Airport on a warrant from the United States.

The U.S. authorities accuse Meng of bank fraud for misleading HSBC about Huawei's relationship with a company operating in Iran, putting HSBC at risk of fines and penalties for breaking U.S. sanctions on Tehran. Both Meng and Huawei have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

China has attributed the case as a "serious political incident," which revealed the U.S.'s political calculations to suppress Huawei and other Chinese tech companies purposefully.