When she arrived in Brussels in 2004 Neelie Kroes, European Union competition commissioner, vowed she would not be “a pussycat”. Last weekend, at the very end of her five-year term, she was as good as her word.

For months Ms Kroes had been making it clear she expected RBS and Lloyds to make serious disposals to atone for the billions of pounds of state aid they received; at times she felt they were not taking her seriously.