To represent the bank, BGL BNP Paribas CEO  was accompanied by the chief operating officer and member of the executive committee, Philippe Pedrotti, and escorted by a lawyer. And like the Spuerkeess, when faced with any specific question, the BGL BNP Paribas officials took refuge behind respect for banking procedures, ongoing investigations and banking secrecy.

Today’s hearing is to be filed under the heading of frustrating hearings for committee members. MP  (LSAP) described it as “a fine exercise in doublespeak,” and said that all that came out of it was "a lecture on banking law.” There was no answer to the question of how it was possible to grant a credit line of €23m on a single signature. The only information to remember, said the MP, is that the bank was never contacted by the government to sit down and talk about a possible rescue of Caritas. But here, we leave banking law and venture into political territory.

Frieden, Bettel and Margue before MPs

And it is this terrain that will serve as the backdrop for the next hearing conducted by the special committee. On 19 May, it will be prime minister (CSV), minister for cooperation and humanitarian action (DP) and justice minister  (CSV) who will have to answer to MPs. They are likely to be challenged on at least one specific point: Frieden’s until there is clarity on the management of these funds and we have a better view of the association’s governance.” For Fayot, this statement made any restructuring--and therefore any rescue of Caritas--impossible. The LSAP MP also intends to call Caritas’ governance to account, and in particular on the role of Pit Bouché, then vice-chairman of the board as a representative of the state, and currently a government councillor.

This article was originally published in .