Why 'assault the bastions'?  Why not just chip away at the edifice? A smaller bank with clear customer service pledges that rigidly controls costs through as much automation as possible.  Keep most transactions online.  No large physical locations with drive thrus and corresponding staffing...smaller loan centers with loan officers paid by some sort of commission structure based on loans given out and repayment rate.<p>Lean and mean...except when it comes to customers who will be treated with the dignity they were used to 25 years ago.   Make money with the bank's core services instead of an abusive fee structure.  Doesn't seem terribly outlandish to me.