The lender said the decline was due to a number of significant items.
Net interest income declined to $58m compared with $64m in the same period in 2013, and while operating expenses rose 2% to $18.24bn.
The bank’s underlying revenue fell 4% to $31.36bn from $32.7bn, while its commercial banking revenue continued to grow, with a good performance in Asia.
A pre-tax profit of $565m for the second quarter was reported, down by about $250m compared to the year ago period.
The bank’s total payment protection insurance (PPI) provisions have increased by £66m ($111m), bringing the running total since April 2011 to £2.1bn.
HSBC Group chief executive Stuart Gulliver said: "These results demonstrate the resilience of our business model. Whilst regulatory uncertainty persists, our balance sheet remains strong and our continuing ability to generate capital supports both growth and our progressive dividend policy."
