HONG KONG — China's Ping An Insurance has quietly taken up the role of shareholder activist, putting pressure on HSBC to consider a shake-up that could reshape one of the world's biggest financial institutions.

The Chinese financial giant first disclosed an ownership position in HSBC in 2017, and is now the British lender's largest shareholder, with a stake of more than 8%. Ping An wants HSBC to undertake an overhaul that would result in the market giving the bank more credit for its large Asian business, and make those operations less beholden to regulators in London.