Britain's financial regulator has recommended that banks should be required to get regulatory approval for significant acquisitions, to avoid a future disaster like the collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland.
The report by the Financial Services authority lays blame for the RBS debacle in 2008 on the bank's management, the government's "light touch" regulation and the hasty way in which RBS pursued its takeover of the Dutch bank ABN Amro.
Because of the takeover, taxpayers had to bail out the bank and now own 83 percent of its shares.
The report says there were multiple poor decisions by RBS but it did not find any individual legally responsible for the disaster.
The report also faulted the Financial Services Authority for failing to challenge the judgment of RBS managers.
AP