Holding cash does not lock it up. Banks make deposited funds available as capital for investment. This can lead to a liquidity problem during a crunch, but that

Holding cash does not lock it up. Banks make deposited funds available as capital for investment. This can lead to a liquidity problem during a crunch, but that's literally why we have a central bank. There are plenty of companies that have large cash reserves. Stock buybacks should be made illegal again except as market operations to provide compensation. You can return to shareholders through dividends.