I shopped around and found virtually no difference among what was on offer.

I am inclined to see this as confirmation.

Within a strictly regulated sector, where innovation is somewhat stifled — try offering virtual currency and see what happens — the various banks have so optimized the balance between customer service and not-going-bankrupt that they are nearly copies of one another, exhibiting a kind of law of one price for banking services.

By "actively hostile" I imagine tellers who insult your mother, lobbies that smell of urine, lines out the door on Friday, empty ATMs, unexplained balance reductions, established banks that take customers' money and run.

Instead we get web sites that are slow or occasionally down for maintenance, fees hidden in fine print, mobile apps with annoying security protocols, ATM daily withdrawal limits that you remember right before your summer vacation, and credit card readers that are sub-optimal for a year.

I am considering switching to a credit union too. Their not-for-profit structure and tax exempt status enable advantages for members that traditional banks can't match. It might be nice if more services were provided this way.

I find plenty of customer-friendly innovations in banking. Many of them are quickly copied by other banks, so eventually you see virtually no difference between them.

• Free checks

• Groovy hologram stickers

• Online bill pay

• Brick-and-mortar branches on every corner

• Online-only banks with no bricks or mortar

• Check deposit by sending a digital photo

• Temporary freeze on a misplaced card

• Notify bank of travel plans in advance to reduce fraud alerts

• Photo on back of card

• Budget reports and planning tools

• Complimentary coffee, breath mints, dog biscuits

• 24/7 telephone service

• ATM fee reimbursement

• Check security features: microprinting, temperature-sensitive ink, watermarks

• A competent mortgage division

At a high level, any business is customer-hostile because it wants to get as much of the customer's money as possible while providing the minimum in exchange. In practice, the business that provides the most in return gets the most customer revenue.