Although there is correlation on a broad level between savings amounts and loan amounts, there is actually very little, if any, apparent correlation between changes in total savings levels at banks in the US and changes in total loans provided by those banks in the US. This picture is consistent with deposit functions of banks and lending functions of banks being independent services and not having much to do with one another.  Deposits have increased since Great Recession started in the US, while loans have stagnated.  The problem with banks is not in their deposit taking functions, but in their lending functions. Namely, it makes little sense for banks to lend money when default risks are high and when they can make more certain income by just taking fees from providing the service that people really want in a crisis -- saving their wealth.