We used to have that in the Netherlands. For banking, regular banks refused to service small businesses and lower income private people. The government set up t

We used to have that in the Netherlands. For banking, regular banks refused to service small businesses and lower income private people. The government set up two banks of their own, one for small businesses and one for ordinary people to do things like deposit their paychecks and have simple savings accounts. The latter especially was wildly successful and innovative, with a truly forward thinking IT department (they had online banking over dialup in 1987!) Alas, the 90s hit and these banks, along with the energy companies, the cable companies and the postal company, were privatized. Innovation ground to a halt and service quality plummeted. In the end, they had to be bailed out during the 2008 financial crisis.