> Of course in Canada we have a banking oligopoly that is effectively there just to rob people

UK has building societies, they function like a bank mostly but are mutual (owned by it's members).

In my experience they are more pleasant to deal with, tend to be smaller/more conservative with tech and you can speak to a human when shit goes sideways.

Mine has never laundered money for the cartels (unlike my other bank) which is a plus as well.