FILE PHOTO: A logo is pictured on HSBC bank in Geneva, Switzerland, August 16, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC HSBA.L reported on Monday its first-half pretax profit rose 15.9% and announced a further buyback of $1 billion, defying some analysts' expectations it might pause its strategy of returning extra capital to investors.

Europe’s biggest bank by assets reported a pretax profit for the first six months of $12.41 billion, up from $10.71 billion in the same period a year earlier.