Instead of Schumpeter’s “creative destruction,” bankers have engaged in destructive creation in order to gouge customers at every opportunity while shielding themselves behind a veil of complexity from the prying eyes of regulators (and even top management). Former US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker has argued, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that the only useful financial innovation in recent years has been the ATM.
但是，金融业批评者认为这些创新正是问题之所在。与熊彼特的“创新性破坏”相反，银行家参与破坏性创新是为了抓住一切机会糊弄客户，而它们自己躲在复杂性的面纱之后，逃脱监管者（甚至最高管理层）的监督。前美联储主席保罗·沃克尔半开玩笑地指出，近几年来唯一有用的金融创新就是ATM机。因此，批评者呼吁限制竞争，阻止创新。