For Tim Geithner, they have brought “unprecedented” clarity; to Peer Steinbrück, they are “worthless”. The strikingly contrasting views of the US Treasury secretary and German finance minister over the efficacy of stress-testing banks form another one of those Venus-and-Mars moments that have come to highlight policy differences between the proactive US and more deliberative Europe – this time over how to tackle the financial crisis.

Indeed, since the onset of the credit crunch nearly two years ago, bankers and policymakers on each side of the Atlantic have been quick to point fingers at their brethren across the pond.

When America’s investment banks announced heavy losses on toxic debt instruments, executives were quick to point out that their counterparts in Europe had not yet taken the same pain. And when the collapse of Lehman Brothers in New York forced European governments to rescue a number of their own banks last year, politicians accused the US of failing to address weaknesses in its financial system.