The Good Old Days

Too often we remember the "good old days" of financial services with rose colored glasses. Granted the failures of financial firms happened, but they were well kept secrets as acquisitions were arranged behind closed doors. Make no mistake, these were bailouts with taxpayer FDIC money, but it was on a scale that could happen quietly.
For those who used financial services there was virtually no choice, tremendous lack of visibility and value being reaped by institutions at the expense of value to individuals and corporations.
Banks
In the "good old days" banks were regulated as to interest rates and terms on deposits, interest rates and terms on mortgages, jurisdictions on where they could branch.
The old joke was to be a banker was to follow the 3/6/3 rule - borrow at 3%, lend at 6%, leave at 3pm.
My memories as a customer banking in NY in the 70's pretty much followed this dictum. Passbook savings accounts were the norm - no term and no choice in rates from bank to bank (this wasn't regulated, but by "competitive" practice there was no need to pay more than the neighboring bank). Mortgages were regulated, with large down payments required, only 30 year fixed terms Rates were fixed and consistent for all banks in a geographic area.
Geographically banking was regulated state by state. Nationwide branching was not allowed. In NY banks could only operate in "contiguous counties", in Texas and Illinois banks could only operate in a single branch. Texas subsequently allowed holding companies to be statewide - providing for a proliferation of "banks" that were part of the same corporate entity. In California there was statewide banking.
There were few credit cards, no online banking, no ATMs, no automatic bill paying, nothing but American Express Travelers Checks for international travelers, no home equity loans or privileged checking. Just writing checks to pay bills, making a withdrawal at a branch (hours 9-3 M-F) to get cash, check registers to watch to make sure you didn't overdraw your account and monthly bank statements to reconcile.
Corporate Financing
Investment banks were where corporations had to go for raising capital by issuing stock or bonds. Corporations went to banks to borrow money. Only the largest corporations (such as GM) had direct access to markets. Other companies had to go to the specialized providers depending on what they needed. Small businesses had few options beyond bank loans.
Individual Investing
Brokerage firms provided "services" to individual investors. Brokers managed money with large initial investment requirements and hefty (and often not too well disclosed) fees. Most people who had less than 6 figures in savings relied on savings accounts at banks - with their restricted 3% returns.
Retirement
Retirement was provided for by pensions. Managed by the employer (or government entity), there was no way to know whether the money would be there when you retired or how it was being invested. Corporate Pensions were unregulated until 1974, when corporate bankruptcies started to uncover the fact that people who thought they had pensions had nothing.

So before we turn the clock back to the good old days, we should reflect on why changes were made and where they went wrong.