An increase in bad debt charges on business loans offset profit growth in both the consumer banking and markets' business of HSBC in Australia in the June 2011 half year.The half yearly report for HSBC, released last night, refers to an increase in "individually assessed new loan impairment allowances… in Australia, due to loan impairment charges raised against a small number of commercial banking exposures."Pre-tax profit for HSBC, reported in US dollars, was steady in the June 2011 half-year at US$135 million, from US$136 million in the December 2010 half, and up from US$122 million in the June 2010 half.The rising impairments changed the profit mix, with the profit from retail banking, at US$36 million in the half, up by around 50 per cent on the six months prior but steady compared with the 12 months before.Profits from commercial banking declined over the last two halves.