LONDON (AP) — HSBC PLC apologized to shareholders Monday as it disclosed a $700 million charge to cover the cost of U.S. penalties for lapses including its failure to enforce money-laundering controls in Mexico.

The provision was announced as Europe’s biggest bank reported an 11 percent advance in pretax profit in the first half of the year following $4.3 billion in gains from asset sales. For the six months ending June 30, the bank made a pretax profit of $12.7 billion, up from $11.5 billion a year earlier.