[pessimizer]

> Why exactly should banks be private companies at all?

It's a government trust. The only use of banks is to realistically evaluate loans, but priced-in bailouts take away all of the risk, and with it all of the signal. People get loans because they're insiders who have relationships with bankers, or because they're objectively overpaying for them.

If banks will always be bailed out, the proper amount of interest that should be paid on a loan is 0%.