Competition should work just fine with a handful of large banks and a vigilant regulator.

In fact, I suspect that there are actually huge inefficiencies in these very small regional banks people are paying for one way or another.

It might still be worth it for society, in the end, but I highly doubt that it’s cheaper/more efficient than in other countries.

One example is the fact addressed in the article: It takes way too long to roll out technical innovations that have been commonplace in other countries for decades or even centuries.