Eric Knight, HSBC's troublesome activist shareholder, may well be impressed by the bank's apparent willingness to offload businesses deemed peripheral or non-core.

Less impressive for Mr Knight, and his Knight Vinke investment firm, however, is that the embattled US arm is unlikely to be included in this category.

Mr Knight has been pushing HSBC to sell out of the US, where bumper sub-prime writedowns of more than $11 billion dragged on the bank's otherwise healthy increase in annual profits in 2007.

HSBC was one of the first to warn about problematic American mortgage borrowers and is now also one of the biggest sufferers.

Douglas Flint, the group finance director, was refreshingly candid about prospects for the US economy.

It might be 2010 before any economic turnaround begins to take hold, he said, while the business in North America is still grappling with increasing impairment charges.

However, Mr Flint remains convinced the US can be a good business for HSBC when at last the economy finally does turn. Hopes of a swift US exit appear to have been dashed.

HSBC as it stands is well-diversified geographically.

Stellar growth in Hong Kong and Asia Pacific were stand-out features about today's numbers. Together, the two account for just over 55 per cent of group profits. More than a third of profits come from Europe.

The bank has vowed to deploy capital into emerging market growth prospects in a move that can only add to its roundedness.

For now, that is the shape that HSBC - notwithstanding Mr Knight's best efforts - is likely to remain.

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