Stuart Gulliver was, as ever, on witty form during HSBC’s investor day last week as he delivered a presentation update on the bank’s progress over the past year since spelling out its future strategy.

As he discussed in detail the extensive progress HSBC had made in the past 12 months as it had racked up a list of no fewer than 28 businesses either exited, sold or set to become so, the HSBC chief executive noted the bank had exceeded the original expectations of some sceptics in the media who had questioned how successful it would be after it first outlined its intentions.