What are banks for?

Like any business their goal is to make money. Not for their customers but for their business. Profit is not what is advertised of course, it just doesn't fit the image of banking. By implication the banking reserves of 1.1 trillion dollars does suggest the amount of money they have made.
And where is this money made? It is made from their customers. It is also seen in their assets of 11,077 billion dollars. These are the funds they use to make more money by lending it out. This is money they don't have because they lent it out to other customers. The only reason its called an asset is because they claim they can get it back.
So the question is, where is the money they are holding safe for others? This is found by looking at their liabilities of some 9,941 billion dollars. They call it a liability because it's not theirs to keep, it has been lent to them by their customers. The banks show that these funds are in customers accounts. So what do banks do with these funds? Of course, they lend it out to other customers. Just a quick look makes it appear that the Liabilities and Assets are the same thing. If you put 100 dollars in the bank, the bank is liable to pay it back when you want it, its a liability to the bank, which is lent out to another customer, which is considered an asset. So theoretically they cancel each other out. In fact, according to the numbers, the banks have lent our more money than they were given.
So how does the huge number of the banking reserves come from? It comes from the interest they charge on the money they lent out. The bank may charge 4.25 percent which gives them their profit. This is the money you lent to them giving you 0.10 percent in a savings account, resulting in 4.15 percent they make on money you gave them to keep safe.
With all the "troubles" the banks are having, it would seem to make sense to help them lower their liabilities. However, they would not like this kind of help. By lowering their liabilities, you would be removing money that they want to have to lend out. And if they lent your money out, they would have to give you someone else's money. And if everyone decided they wanted their money back? Well, the theory of bank management says 'that will never happen'. (So why does a highly debt ridden government guarantee your money? It uses the same "theory".) In very basic terms, banking  (and government) is counting on not having to meet their commitments.
You should be so motivated now, not to open a banking account, but to open a bank. Best of luck.