Interim Report - 1 of 24

The following regulated information, disseminated pursuant to DTR 6.3.5, comprises the 2015 Interim Report which was sent to shareholders of HSBC Holdings plc on 26 August 2015. A copy of the Interim Report is available at www.hsbc.com/investor-relations/financial-and-regulatory-reports

The Interim Report 2015 of HSBC Holdings has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of English law, and liability in respect thereof is also governed by English law.

Certain defined terms

Unless the context requires otherwise, 'HSBC Holdings' means HSBC Holdings plc and 'HSBC', the 'Group', 'we', 'us' and 'our' refer to HSBC Holdings together with its subsidiaries. Within this document, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is referred to as 'Hong Kong'. When used in the terms 'shareholders' equity' and 'total shareholders' equity', 'shareholders' means holders of HSBC Holdings ordinary shares and those preference shares and capital securities classified as equity. The abbreviations '$m' and '$bn' represent millions and billions (thousands of millions) of US dollars, respectively.

Interim financial statements and notes

HSBC's interim consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereon, as set out on pages 101 to 139, have been prepared in accordance with the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority and International Accounting Standard ('IAS') 34 'Interim Financial Reporting' as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ('IASB') and as endorsed by the European Union ('EU'). EU-endorsed International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRSs') may differ from IFRSs issued by the IASB if, at any point in time, new or amended IFRSs have not been endorsed by the EU.

At 31 December 2014 there was no difference between IFRSs endorsed by the EU and IFRSs issued by the IASB. The consolidated financial statements of HSBC at 31 December 2014 were therefore prepared in accordance with IFRSs as issued by the IASB and as endorsed by the EU. At 30 June 2015, there were no unendorsed standards effective for the period ended 30 June 2015 affecting these interim consolidated financial statements, and there was no difference between IFRSs endorsed by the EU and IFRSs issued by the IASB in terms of their application to HSBC.

HSBC uses the US dollar as its presentation currency because the US dollar and currencies linked to it form the major currency bloc in which HSBC transacts and funds its business. Unless otherwise stated, the information presented in this document has been measured in accordance with IFRSs.

Reference to 'adjusted' in tables and commentaries indicates that reported results have been adjusted for the period-on-period effects of foreign currency translation differences and significant items which distort period-on-period comparisons as described on page 16. The adjusted return on risk-weighted assets is defined and reconciled on page 31.

We have enhanced the Interim Report 2015 to concentrate on events and transactions that are significant to an understanding of the changes in our financial position and performance since the Annual Report and Accounts 2014 and to provide information we consider most relevant to decision-making by users of the document. As a result, our business performance commentary has been streamlined to remove duplication and selected Risk sections and Notes on the Financial Statements have been refined or removed to focus on information that is material in the context of interim reporting.