On the other hand, at least in the US, we don't have much protection when banks themselves take money from our accounts. E.g. back in 2009, banks made $37 billi

On the other hand, at least in the US, we don't have much protection when banks themselves take money from our accounts. E.g. back in 2009, banks made $37 billion from overdraft fees [1], thanks to shady practices like reordering transactions to maximize overdrafts. There was a class action suit about it, but it was a token victory, with very little money going back to the victims. This doesn't negate your point, but I would just argue that we pay a heavy price for our heavily regulated financial system, between bank fees, card processing fees, foreign transaction fees, trading fees, etc. [1] https://www.npr.org/2012/02/28/147573947/the-fight-over-overdraft-fees https://www.npr.org/2012/02/28/147573947/the-fight-over-over...