It may have been a slip of the tongue when Vodafone chairman Sir John Bond mentioned HSBCA instead of HSPA - or high speed package access, a new mobile technology - in his annual meeting speech, but the bank was also on investors' minds.

Several shareholders attending the meeting at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in Westminster referred to Sir John's time at HSBC and his involvement in the purchase of Household International in the US, which ended up with subprime mortgages on its books. "I suggest your board is subprime," said one, referring to the mobile phone group's total shareholder returns.