Proper vetting of banking licence applications could have prevented the Satabank saga altogether, Simon Busuttil said in Parliament on Wednesday, questioning whether the freezing of all accounts was a proportionate response.The Opposition MP was speaking during a debate on amendments to various financial services laws, which would transpose various EU directives concerning the financial sector. Amongst other amendments, the Bill would affect legislation concerning the ranking of unsecured debt in the hberarchy of assets and liabilities established during insolvency proceedings. It would also clarify the powers of the Malta Financial Services Authority.Dr Busuttil said the freezing of all Satabank accounts was a classic case of the innocent being punished unjustly. It meant, he said, that legitimate businessmen could not honour their liabilities and that families were going hungry because their money was inaccessible.He who would be repaying businesses for the unwarranted damages incurred as a result of unjustifiable delays, calling for those who had been affected to be assisted with immediate effect, and said that the government should have learned from the Pilatus Bank…
