Questions for the president about commercial and central banks’ actions in crisis investigation

With S. Jakeliūnas stating that due to excessive Swedish bank concentration, SEB or Swedbank should be sold, D. Grybauskaitė described the politician as inadequate, but it is specifically commercial banks that will be the main topic the president will have to provide answers on, how she views their influence on the Lithuanian economy prior to and during the crisis, also the Bank of Lithuania’s actions in oversight of the commercial banks.

The committee has had also had a testimony from former SEB bank chief economist Gitanas Nausėda, there has been much discussion at the start of the inquiry on the responsibility of the then Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius and then Minister of Finance Ingrida Šimonytė.

A. Kubilius responded to the inquiry similarly to the president, describing the decisions and person involved as inadequate. The politician highlighted that the president received the Charlemagne Prize for her leadership during the financial crisis.

The Seimas committee is to begin compiling its conclusions and as one of its recommendations it is expected to state that senior officials performed their duties unsuitably during the crisis. This particularly applies to pre-crisis Minister of Finance Rimantas Šadžius, who confessed to have stayed silent regarding the crisis.

Other than questioning the president, the commission will also request for clarification from former Minister of Finance Algirdas Šemeta and former Bank of Lithuania head Reinoldijus Šarkinas. The committee is to present its conclusions to the Seimas in mid-April, before the presidential elections.