He once said – I quote here from the laudatory statement on the occasion of Mr Juncker being awarded the Charlemagne Prize in 2006 – that “institutional life in Europe is a bit like life in the animal kingdom – a flea can drive a lion crazy, but there is no known example of a lion driving a flea crazy.
But while we have quickly delivered on our enforcement strategy in terms of actions against firms, we still have some way to go to conclude successful actions against individuals involved in the management of financial firms. Generally speaking, firms tend to settle but individuals tend to fight their corner to the bitter end. So be it.