The international financiers. The FED, who operate for the benefit of the member banks, despite the illusion the average person has that they are a federal agency, feeds a bubble with excess liquidity. During this time the banks prosper and overextend credit which culminates in disasterous credit policy. Oh, there will be individual banks that fail, but that too benefits the big money interests because the goal is to get all money power into fewer and fewer hands. So big banks will take over smaller banks.
Centralization is the goal.
Ma and Pa, who own many banks shares as well as others through their mutual funds and who bought more or less near the top, finally panic at a low and take whatever remains out of the bank shares and mutual funds and put the money in the nice safe banks. Because everyone is broke and overextended with debt they cannot pay, the banks start foreclosing on any remaining assets of Ma and Pa, particularly real estate. The country is in depression but the banks are up to their eyeballs in assets. The bank debits your account and puts the credit on your card. The banks must have reserves for the money in your account.