HSBC Holdings on Wednesday said its first-half pre-tax profit came in at US$21.6 billion, a 0.5 percent decline compared to the same period last year.

The bank said it will pay an interim dividend of 10 US cents per share, the second payment this year following the 31 US cents announced last quarter.

HSBC also announced a further three-month repurchase of up to US$3 billion, following the completed US$3 billion buyback announced last quarter.

With several major central banks seen likely to cut interest rates later this year, the group's outgoing chief executive, Noel Quinn, told an online press call that HSBC has reduced its sensitivity to interest rates.

"We've significantly lowered our sensitivity to interest rates. And this transformation has helped to improve our financial performance," he said.

"Because we knew that interest rate declines were going to come at some stage, we've been investing heavily in building up alternative revenue growth options, mainly around wealth, international wholesale banking and international transaction banking."

The incumbent chief financial officer, Georges Elhedery, will step into the chief executive role in September following Quinn's retirement.

Elhedery highlighted the bank's commitment to its core Hong Kong and UK markets.

"The bulk of our capital and resources are deployed in our four scale activities, that is Hong Kong, the UK, our international wholesale bank, which is underpinned by our leading transaction banking capabilities, and our wealth proposition, and that's in particular in Asia," he said.

"I'm intending to continue to grow revenue on a sustainable trajectory, intending to continue improving operating leverage, while maintaining a very strong discipline which is now embedded in the firm."

HSBC has named Jonathan Bingham as the interim group chief financial officer, effective from September 2.