By James Quinn Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh Published: 8:47PM BST 24 Sep 2009  Harrowing account: EC president Jose Manuel Barroso says that 'Europeans are horrified by banks'  EC president Jose Manuel Barroso claimed that "Europeans are horrified by banks... paying exorbitant bonuses" and promised to lead the push for financial reform "up a gear".  Although he warned there should not be a "witch-hunt against bankers," he added that "prudent financial institutions must not be at the mercy of their competitors' recklessness".  Mr Barroso's comments came as he prepared to introduce the Commission's final submission – a collective viewpoint from all European Union members compiled by the executive – to the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, part of which will focus on financial regulation.  Speaking on the first day of the summit, the former prime minister of Portugal said that world leaders must not revert to "business as usual" as the economic crisis eases.  Mr Barroso also called for the need for governments to co-ordinate their financial stimulus exit strategies "when the time comes," and the need for further reform of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in terms of both an enhanced "surveillance role" and the need for smaller economies to have a greater say.  His comments echo those of some European leaders, notably German chancellor Angela Merkel and French prime minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who spent Thursday reinforcing their points of view.  Meanwhile Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, said that the G20 itself – until now an ad-hoc series of meetings by 29 major countries and international organisations like the EU and the IMF – will be strengthened to ensure it becomes the world's main economic governing council.  The G20 will meet regularly from now on, Mr Brown said, under a more formalised framework. "What we are trying to do is to create a new system of international economic co-operation around the world. It's never really happened before. We've got this one chance to make a huge success of international economic co-operation."
The head of the European Commission has demanded "zero tolerance" on    bankers' "bad old ways" in a stinging attack on the role of    financial institutions in the lead-up to the current recession.