Well if the power grid goes down there will be more to worry about than the state of financial regulations, I think, lol. Even the stock market is based on the assumption that society as a whole will grow and become more prosperous over time so you have to have some faith either way.

I don't think that banks are ever going away, especially since some of them seem to be smart enough to get in on the trend to try to reduce their bureaucratic costs. From a certain perspective it's a very practical tool for organizations to save a lot of money, and as long as that's there it will continue to grow.