JP Morgan cancelled a question and answer session on Twitter with veteran investment banker Jimmy Lee, above, after being flooded with insulting questions less than 24 hours before the session was to begin.

"Bad idea! Back to the drawing board," spokesman Brian Marchiony said by email on Wednesday evening.

JP Morgan had started promoting the session with Lee, a vice-chairman at the bank, last week on the social media site. The company had asked Twitter users to send questions marked with the hashtag #AskJPM in advance.

Few questions appeared until Wednesday afternoon, when responses piled in, many making fun of the attempt to use social media, insulting executives and reminding readers of the bank's recent legal problems.

"Reading the #AskJPM Twitter feed makes it seem JPM put a 'kick me' sticker on its back when it rolled out that hashtag," wrote one user.

Others referred to allegations of corruption in China, asked why the financial crisis had not resulted in bankers being jailed and compared the numbers of American homes in foreclosure with homelessness figures.

"What's it like working with Mexican drug cartels? Do they tip?" asked one user.

Another asked: "How are you planning to spend the savings made from firing your social media team?"