HSBC has reported an increase in profits for the first six months of the year.

Reported profit before tax were up 10% in the first half of 2015 at $13.6bn compared with $12.3bn in the same period in 2014.

HSBC revealed it is to sell its Brazil unit to Banco Brandesco for $5.2bn.

During the period, the business design of the ring-fenced bank was settled and Birmingham was chosen as its headquarters location; a new HQ building is being constructed which will be available in 2018. Both the ring‑fenced bank and the remaining activities outside the ring fence will be served by a new service company which will host shared infrastructure and employees. 22,000 UK employees of the UK bank will migrate to this new employer by the end of this year.

HSBC confirmed that “detailed” work had started on establishing whether the bank would move its global headquarters and that it remains the Board’s intention to conclude the review by the end of this year.

“Our performance in the first half of 2015 demonstrated the underlying strength of our business,” said Stuart Gulliver, group chief executive.

“Our diversified, universal model enabled the Group to deliver increased profitability in spite of slow global growth. We are executing the actions that we announced at our Investor Update in June and our focus is on making significant progress during the remainder of the year.”