banks are not the matrix. the whole system is, I believe. Banks are considered a part of the system because ...
The whole system is the matrix, and banks have an essential role in all of that. Simply because:
“Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world.”
— Henry Kissinger
And banks control the money and how money flows. As long as they are able to do what they do now we can't expect this world to change.
When it comes to manipulation, the ones with money can manipulate the odds in their favor, one way or another. And I am sure that we all know that there is too much manipulation on the global stage, and banks help with that, more or less.