There needs to be an independent investigation into all the steps taken by EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes against banks which have been bailed out by governments because of the financial crisis, central bank president Nout Wellink says in Friday’s Financieele Dagblad.

Kroes may have been too tough because she did not use all the measures open to her, such as taking the serious situation facing the economy into account, Wellink said.
And he points out that the role of the Commission has been left out in the many investigations into the crisis, both in Europe and abroad.
Sales
Brussels has forced banks which have been bailed out by their national governments to sell off large chunks of themselves. For example, ING has been told to sell off its insurance arm, as well as other banking units.
Germany’s Commerzbank was told to sell off the equivalent of 45% of its balance sheet total.
‘Europe has acted very differently than the US,’ he said. ‘That alone should be reason to look if Europe has acted as it should. Perhaps it has. Perhaps the US should have done things differently.’
The European parliament does have the power to set up an inquiry but MEPs have no right to force people to appear or hear them under oath, the FD says.