The chief executive of the Financial Services Authority and a deputy governor of the Bank of England said today hedge funds were not responsible for the credit crisis that overtook markets this summer - however managers may still be called to give evidence in the Treasury's investigation into Northern Rock.

Hector Sants, chief executive of the FSA, said at a London conference organised by French business school Edhec: "Hedge funds were not the catalysts or drivers of this summer's events. The FSA remains broadly content with its approach to the regulation of hedge funds and recent events have supported that approach."