I hope no one is actually suprised by this. This has been standard operating procedure from day one. Prostitution may be the oldest profession, but banking is a close second. Banking or "money changers" has and will always be the most profitable business on earth.
Simply put, The only way a "bank" can make money is to skim something off the top of each transaction. Sooner or later government wants a piece of the action. Not long after that there is nothing left to skim and the original asset begins its finincial decent.