Shareholders did ‘virtually nothing’ to avoid the current financial crisis, Tuesday’s Financieele Dagblad quotes finance minister Wouter Bos as saying.

On the contrary, they actually urged bankers to take increasing risks, Bos said.
Bos, who was addressing a meeting of shareholders society Eumedion in Amsterdam, said there was no avoiding asking what action shareholders had taken to manage the crisis. ‘The unpalatable answer is: virtually nothing,’ he said.
Short-term
The minister said shareholders must realise that short-term profit is unsustainable and that they are there to play a part in creating a healthy future for the company, reports the Financieele Dagblad.
He also criticised supervisory boards for not taking action, says the paper.
Bos also showed his irritation with Fortis shareholders who have accused the Dutch state of selling them out during the nationalisation of the financial services group. The state paid €16.8bn for the Dutch activities which shareholders say was too little.