Former leaders of HBOS and RBS have today been in front of Treasury select committee to account for for the events that led up to their banks being taken largely into public ownership.

Of course they were the very picture of contrition, but looking at the spectacular catalogue of failures they presided over, it's going to take a little more than some mea culpas to set things straight. According to reports in UK newspaper The Guardian, Sir Fred Goodwin and Sir Tom McKillop of RBS, and Andy Hornby and Lord Stevenson of HBOS faced a range of accusations and made some pretty big admisssions. Here's a few highlights:

McKillop admitting he did not fully understand some of the complex financial instruments his bank was using

Hornby admitting that he was being paid £60,000 a month to work as a consultant for his old bank

Goodwin and McKillop conceding that RBS's decision to buy the Dutch bank ABN Amro was a mistake

All four witnesses admitting that they did not have formal banking qualifications

Naturally, all expressed their deep regret and sincere apologies for the problems they had caused. But given that these men are architects of some of the biggest banking collapses in living memory, is that really enough? At the end of the day, they will likely all go home to comfortable houses and healthy bank balances, unlike some of the biggest victims of the crunch. Apologies are fine, but doesn't there come a time when we need to go a little further? What do you think should be done about those that led us into disaster?