An influential shareholder activist has launched a push to force far-reaching changes to the strategy and management structure of HSBC, the world’s fourth-largest bank.

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Peter Thal Larsen, banking editor, on Knight Vinke’s demands

Eric Knight, a New York-based investor who has built up a strong track record as an activist, wrote through his firm, Knight Vinke, to the full HSBC board this week “requesting that it undertake a fundamental review of the group’s strategy in consultation with shareholders”.