Yeah, if you think programmers have a tough time with work/life balance, you don't know many people in the financial field. I-bankers are expected to work 14 hour days, 7 days a week, and basically have no life outside of work. This is where the "hookers and blow" reputation comes from: they have plenty of money, but no time for fulfilling relationships or hobbies.
Things are better for hedge fund managers (many of the ones I know work pretty standard 50ish hour weeks), but most of the good ones find it hard to shut off their financial brains. The foreword to Peter Lynch's books explain that he left investing because he was basically missing his kids' childhood, and at some point, some things are more important than making your next million.
Fine, but investment bankers are still a small minority in finance. I lack the proper English terms for the different banking job descriptions, but bankers dealing with customers personally (loan approval etc., which for commercial clients can be pretty big), internal auditing, etc. have standard hours and, if they are doing a good job, a good career.
Those people that you're thinking of are local bank branch managers. They can have a decent middle-class career, but they are hardly the people you think of when you think "high-paying banker". PayScale.com lists their salary as being in the $42K-64K range:
Plenty of occupations require you to put your occupation ahead of your personal life.