Debt securities in issue - Summary of debt securities in issue (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	$ 2,220,739	$ 2,099,449
Trading liabilities
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	184,361	153,691
Financial liabilities designated at fair value
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	94,429	86,832
Debt securities
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	169,639	155,683
Debt securities \| Trading liabilities
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	40,734	32,656
Debt securities \| Financial liabilities designated at fair value
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	64,359	57,112
Debt securities \| At cost
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	64,546	65,915
Bonds and medium-term notes
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	146,539	133,721
Other debt securities in issue
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	23,100	21,962
HSBC Holdings
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	87,730	75,796
HSBC Holdings \| Financial liabilities designated at fair value
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	30,890	30,113
HSBC Holdings \| Debt securities
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	51,754	38,571
HSBC Holdings \| Debt securities \| Financial liabilities designated at fair value
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	17,496	16,766
HSBC Holdings \| Debt securities \| At cost
Disclosure of detailed information about financial instruments [line items]
Financial liabilities	$ 34,258	$ 21,805

- Definition

The amount of liabilities that are: (a) a contractual obligation: (i) to deliver cash or another financial asset to another entity; or (ii) to exchange financial assets or financial liabilities with another entity under conditions that are potentially unfavourable to the entity; or (b) a contract that will, or may be, settled in the entity’s own equity instruments and is: (i) a non-derivative for which the entity is, or may be, obliged to deliver a variable number of the entity’s own equity instruments; or (ii) a derivative that will, or may be, settled other than by the exchange of a fixed amount of cash or another financial asset for a fixed number of the entity’s own equity instruments. For this purpose, rights, options or warrants to acquire a fixed number of the entity’s own equity instruments for a fixed amount of any currency are equity instruments if the entity offers the rights, options or warrants pro rata to all of its existing owners of the same class of its own non-derivative equity instruments. Also, for those purposes the entity’s own equity instruments do not include puttable financial instruments that are classified as equity instruments in accordance with paragraphs 16A-16B of IAS 32, instruments that impose on the entity an obligation to deliver to another party a pro rata share of the net assets of the entity only on liquidation and are classified as equity instruments in accordance with paragraphs 16C-16D of IAS 32, or instruments that are contracts for the future receipt or delivery of the entity’s own equity instruments. As an exception, an instrument that meets the definition of a financial liability is classified as an equity instrument if it has all the features and meets the conditions in paragraphs 16A-16B or paragraphs 16C-16D of IAS 32. [Refer: Financial instruments, class [member]; Financial assets; Derivatives [member]]

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