The barrier to breaking up the banks

The big banks of today have two advantages: Deposits provide a cheap source of funding and they have lower borrowing costs because investors believe the government stands behind them. By leaning on the federally insured deposits, banks can keep their borrowing costs down. For investment banks, a break-up of universal banks would remove the safety net of the federal government and paying higher interest rates to borrow in the credit markets—neither very appealing to them.