[...] More than was ever earned in the history of banking? To me that would seem to imply that at this point every banking institution would be bankrupt.
Actually, all you would need is some subset of banking institutions to go _spectacularly_ bankrupt, and end up owing, in aggregate, more than the others have ever made. Of course, the institutions would have to be big to make that happen. Say, the size of Bear Stearns, Lehman brothers, or Merrill Lynch...
I'm not a domain expert (I'm sure we have a number of them around), but it sounds at least within the realm of plausibility.
Actually, all you would need is some subset of banking institutions to go _spectacularly_ bankrupt, and end up owing, in aggregate, more than the others have ever made. Of course, the institutions would have to be big to make that happen. Say, the size of Bear Stearns, Lehman brothers, or Merrill Lynch...
I'm not a domain expert (I'm sure we have a number of them around), but it sounds at least within the realm of plausibility.