She was speaking in the wake of the revelation that another 3,400 bank customers have been affected by the tracker mortgage scandal, bringing the total to 37,100 by the end of March.

Ms Rowland’s statement of intent is welcome but the continuous drip-feed of ever higher figures suggests two things. Firstly, it is clear that the banks are still not putting the interests of customers first since the investigation into their conduct was commenced by the CB two and a half years ago.

Secondly, while the Central Bank and, specifically, its Financial Conduct section has been dogged in identifying the wrongdoing of the banks, it does not appear to have the killer instinct required to pursue those high-level individual bankers responsible for this appalling conduct.

At the same time, AIB, one of those institutions involved in the scandal, has been attempting to railroad through pay increases for senior executives.

Last week, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said he would use the State’s controlling share in the bank to block a proposal to introduce a share scheme for executives but the resolution, which was defeated, was still put to shareholders yesterday.

According to the AIB board, the disparity in pay between the bank’s top executives and other companies creates a flight risk of senior bankers and we would lose their talents to other institutions here or abroad.

That begs the question of where all the talent was when our banks went into freefall at the start of the financial collapse in 2008. Where was the talent when banks began to fool mortgage customers into coming off tracker rates?

If we lose that so-called talent, so be it. Our banking system needs transparency and accountability more than talent. That means full disclosure by the banks and a more robust mechanism to hold their executives to account.

The Central Bank recognises that the conduct by the banks was not just an issue of contractual breaches with customers but a violation of the Consumer Protection Code, which dates back to 2006 and which every financial firm must adhere to.

There is no doubt that the CB has its work cut out to safeguard stability and to protect consumers. It regulates more than 10,000 firms providing financial services in Ireland and overseas. It has concluded more than 100 enforcement cases under its Administrative Sanctions Procedure and imposed over €61 million in fines. There have also been prohibitions and disqualifications of individuals.

The tracker scandal may not be biggest regulatory sin a financial institution can make but its effect on customers has been devastating. The effect on those executives responsible for it should be equally devastating.