LONDON (Reuters) -- Activist investor Knight Vinke is calling for HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) Executive Chairman Stephen Green to be moved to non-executive chairman as part of a campaign to force change at the bank, the Sunday Times reported.

The London-based global bank (0005.HK) has consistently promoted its chief executives to become executive chairman, and Green was HSBC chief executive for three years before taking over as chairman in May 2006.
Knight Vinke's founder, Eric Knight, also suggested HSBC's board should consider the unprecedented move of appointing a chairman from outside.
""Continuity of management is all very well, but it can also result in paralysis -- which is what has happened here,"" the paper quoted him saying.
Knight Vinke has said its HSBC stake is below 1 percent.
Last week, Knight Vinke wrote to all HSBC board members asking them to launch a fundamental review of the group's strategy in consultation with shareholders.
An HSBC spokesperson said Knight's letter is understood to have raised the question of whether the chairman's position should be an executive role which has been debated several times in the past.
""Stephen Green has set a clear, well understood and we believe well supported strategy for HSBC,"" the spokesperson said
Vinke Knight could not be reached immediately for comment