En una precedente entrada hice referencia a la presentación en Estados Unidos del informe final por parte de la Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC). El Presidente de dicha Comisión compareció en fecha reciente ante el Parlamento Europeo al objeto de exponer las conclusiones fundamentales de dicho informe. Destaca la idea de que la crisis pudo ser evitada, pues abre paso a la pregunta de si se han depurado adecuadamente las responsabilidades correspondientes a no haberlo hecho o a que no fuera posible hacerlo. La nota de prensa resumía la comparecencia en los siguientes términos:
“The findings of the US Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission were presented by its chairman Phil Angelides to the European Parliament's Financial, Economic and Social Crisis Committee on Monday afternoon. MEPs found its account of the causes of the crisis plausible, and stressed the need for EU-US co-operation to help overcome it.
"How did it come to pass that in 2008 we were forced to choose between two stark and painful alternatives - either risk the total collapse of our financial system and economy - or inject trillions of taxpayers dollars into the system and into private companies - even as millions of people still lost their jobs, their savings and their homes?" asked US Financial Crisis Inquiry Committee Chairman Phil Angelides, before outlining a serious of failures that led to the collapse.
The US Commission's final report, presented on 27 January, concluded that the crisis was "avoidable". Its causes included "widespread failures" in financial regulation and supervision as well as in corporate governance and management, which allowed the formation of an "explosive brew of excessive borrowing, risky investments and lack of transparency". The crisis itself was triggered by "breaches in accountability and ethics", but key policy makers were clearly "ill prepared" for it”.
La presencia del Presidente de la citada FCIC se explica por la existencia en el seno del Parlamento Europeo de una Comisión encargada de evaluar el impacto que la crisis va a tener en la Unión Europea y proponer las correspondientes medidas cara a la reconstrucción de los mercados financieros, así como para la consecución de un crecimiento y empleo sostenibles. Esta Comisión tiene que presentar su informe y aprobarlo en el próximo mes de mayo, pasando en julio al voto por el Pleno del Parlamento Europeo.
Madrid, 26 de abril de 2011