WestLB AG, based in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia region, is one of the largest regional savings and commercial banks in the country. On 22 December, the European Commission (Commission) temporarily approved the €3 billion capital aid required to establish a “bad bank” to acquire the bank's toxic and non-strategic assets. The creation of the “bad bank” is part of a restructuring plan originally approved by the Commission. However, the Commission has raised a query over whether the level of additional aid is really necessary and, on 22 December 2009, launched an in-depth investigation to inquire further into the situation.