I suspect the choice of bank is rather unimpactful, even for those wtih a few million dollars in deposits. For most of us, it’s really not worth time trying to optimize—you’re better off finding a site that reviews banks and compares fees, etc. But if you are concerned about the systemic risks and externalities imposed by banks, I would recommend finding a credit union rather than a bank—or at least find a small commercial bank rather than a large national bank or an investment house for banking. (But again, I suspect convenience and fees are a more important factor.)
Edit: To clarify a bit, the marginal impact of giving money to charities is significant, while the marginal impact of giving your savings to a bank is fairly minor—it just gives them a slightly larger balance sheet to make loans, though most are not exactly short on cash nowadays. But if you want to think about systemic change for banks as potentially an important issue, picking where to put your money isn’t as important as contacting your senators to tell them you want them to regulate banks for tightly.
I suspect the choice of bank is rather unimpactful, even for those wtih a few million dollars in deposits. For most of us, it’s really not worth time trying to optimize—you’re better off finding a site that reviews banks and compares fees, etc. But if you are concerned about the systemic risks and externalities imposed by banks, I would recommend finding a credit union rather than a bank—or at least find a small commercial bank rather than a large national bank or an investment house for banking. (But again, I suspect convenience and fees are a more important factor.)
Edit: To clarify a bit, the marginal impact of giving money to charities is significant, while the marginal impact of giving your savings to a bank is fairly minor—it just gives them a slightly larger balance sheet to make loans, though most are not exactly short on cash nowadays. But if you want to think about systemic change for banks as potentially an important issue, picking where to put your money isn’t as important as contacting your senators to tell them you want them to regulate banks for tightly.