The narrative that banks create money out of nothing leaves out many details. A farmer and a banker negotiate a loan. The money the farmer gets will buy land, a tractor, and hire workers. The farmer uses this to create value, a part of which he will share with the banker. Where does the money come from? People trust the system enough to trade real goods for its money. So money is the goodwill the system has build up.

I think a better description of what bankers do is that they bet on the future. Which farmer has the best prospects, what factories should we build, who can be expected to pay off how much mortgage? Someone who can make good bets is valuable, and a country that follows his bets will do better than others.