With regards to the "holdings" bank and "investment" bank, I believe that was yet another product of "deregulation to promote competition" that has been preached ad nauseum as the best thing for us common folk. Much like the electricity market deregulation fiasco here in ca, it's almost always a train wreck. I agree, keeping them seperate prevented using capital from one aspect to bolster another aspect.
IMO, Credit Union is the way to go. While my CU is not perfect, it's tons better than any of the big chains anyday, and they are (hopefully) NEVER going to the "Starbucks" lounge crap WAMU does.