British banking giant HSBC has posted pre-tax profit of $6.10bn for the first quarter of 2016, down 14% compared to $7.06bn in the year-ago quarter.

For the quarter ended 31 March 2016, adjusted pretax profit slumped 18% to $5.43bn from $6.59bn during the same quarter in 2015.

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The bank's revenue during the quarter dipped 6% to $14.97bn from $15.89bn in the prior year. Net interest income dropped to $7.91bn from $8.27bn in the first quarter of 2015.

The bank's quarterly operating expenses slid 7% year-on-year to $8.26bn from $8.84bn.

HSBC's retail banking and wealth management unit registered adjusted pre-tax profit of $1.36bn for the first quarter, down 26% from $1.84bn in the corresponding quarter of 2015.

The bank's global private banking arm reported adjusted pre-tax profit of $112m for the period, a fall of 38% compared to $181m a year ago.

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HSBC CEO Stuart Gulliver said: Our first quarter performance was resilient in tough market conditions that affected the entire banking sector. Profits were down against a very strong first quarter of 2015, but we increased market share in many of the product areas that are critical to our strategy. Market uncertainty led to extreme levels of volatility in January and February, which affected our ability to generate revenue in our Markets and Wealth Management businesses.

"However, our diversified, universal-banking business model helped to cushion the impact through growth in other parts of the bank. Commercial Banking continued its momentum in spite of the slow-down in global trade, and we increased market share across our strategic trade corridors. We also grew revenue elsewhere in Retail Banking and Wealth Management, particularly from current and savings accounts in Hong Kong and the UK, and personal lending in Asia and Mexico."