I'm dubious but I can't dismiss this as a reason because all I have is anecdotal evidence; I've never had any stolen from me, and I've just used off-the-shelf w

I'm dubious but I can't dismiss this as a reason because all I have is anecdotal evidence; I've never had any stolen from me, and I've just used off-the-shelf wallets, including the gui client (bitcoinqt) at one point. The closest I came was I had some on deposit at MtGox, but I had luckily withdrawn to my personal wallet well before the collapse. I also came close with Bitfinex, but I had to withdraw because they decided not to allow New York residents to hold accounts, so I got lucky. I also don't know personally anyone who had any stolen either. The generally available wallets are fine; you just get a pass phrase that you write down somewhere. Paper wallets are fine for cold storage (though the barriers are higher for the casual user). And it's not regulation that saves banks, it's mandatory insurance. If the banks lose your money (through incompetence or theivery) the FDIC (in the US) will pay out (or national organizations through the EU). But this comes with built-in limits; the US maxes out at $250,000 but I don't think the insurance exceeds EUR 100,000 in any country in the EU.